MS Mechanical Sciences MS Mech. Sci. 2191-916X Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/ms-3-85-2012 A statically balanced and bi-stable compliant end effector combined with a laparoscopic 2DoF robotic arm Lassooij J. 1 Tolou N. 1 Tortora G. 2 Caccavaro S. 2 Menciassi A. 2 Herder J. L. 1 Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering, Department of Biomechanical Engineering, Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy 05 12 2012 3 2 85 93 Copyright: © 2012 J. Lassooij et al. 2012 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is available from https://ms.copernicus.org/articles/3/85/2012/ms-3-85-2012.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://ms.copernicus.org/articles/3/85/2012/ms-3-85-2012.pdf

This article presents the design of a newly developed 2DoF robotic arm with a novel statically balanced and bi-stable compliant grasper as the end effector for laparoscopic surgery application. The arm is based on internal motors actuating 2 rotational DoFs: pitch and roll. The positive stiffness of the monolithic grasper has been compensated using pre-curved straight guided beams that are preloaded collinear with the direction of actuation of the grasper. The result is a fully compliant statically balanced laparoscopic grasper. The grasper has been successfully adapted to a robotic arm. The maximum force and stiffness compensations were measured to be 94% and 97% (i.e. near zero stiffness) respectively. Furthermore, the feasibility of adjusting for bi-stable behavior has been shown. This research can be a preliminary step towards the design of a statically balanced fully compliant robotic arm for laparoscopic surgery and similar areas.

 References Alterovitz, R.: Surgical Robotics, Robotics & Automation Magazine, 16, 16–17, 2009. Breedveld, P., Stassen, H. G., Meijer, D. W., and Stassen, L. P. S.: Theoretical background and conceptual solution for depth perception and eye-hand coordination problems in laparoscopic surgery, Min. lnvas. Ther. and Allied Technol., 8, 227–234, 1999. Chen, G. and Zhang, S.: Fully-compliant statically-balanced mechanisms without prestressing assembly: concepts and case studies, Mech. Sci., 2, 169–174, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/ms-2-169-2011">https://doi.org/10.5194/ms-2-169-2011</a>, 2011. De Lange, D. J. B. A., Langelaar, M., and Herder, J. L.: Towards the design of a statically balanced compliant laparoscopic grasper using topology, Proceedings ASME DETC 26th Biennial, Mechanisms and Robotics Conference, 10–13 September, Baltimore, Maryland, paper number DETC2008/MECH-49794, 2008. Dunning, A. G., Tolou, N., and Herder, J. L.: Review Article: Inventory of platforms towards the design of a statically balanced six degrees of freedom compliant precision stage, Mech. Sci., 2, 157–168, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/ms-2-157-2011">https://doi.org/10.5194/ms-2-157-2011</a>, 2011. Forgione, A.: In vivo microrobots for natural orifice transluminal surgery, Current status and future perspectives, Surg. Oncol., 18, 121–129, 2009. Fowler, D., Hu, T., Nadkarni, T., Allen, P., and Hogle, N.: Initial trial of a stereoscopic, insertable, remotely controlled camera for minimal access surgery, Surgical Endoscopy, 24, 9–15, 2010. Gere, J. M. and Timoshenko, S. P.: Mechanics of Materials, Fourth SI edition, Stanley Thomas Publishers, Cheltenham, 1999. Hartono, W.: On the Post-buckling Behavior of Elastic Fixed-End Column with Central Brace, ZAMM_Z. Angew. Math. Mech., 81, 605–611, 2001. Herder, J. L.: Design of spring force compensation systems, Mech. Mach. Theory, 33, 151–161, 1998. Herder, J. L. and van den Berg, F. P. A.: Statically balanced compliant mechanisms (SBCM's), an example and prospects, Proceedings ASME DETC 26th Biennial, Mechanisms and Robotics Conference, 10–13 September, Baltimore, Maryland, paper number DETC2000/MECH-14144, 2000. Hoetmer, K., Kim, C., and Herder, J. L.: An extended building block approach for the design of statically balanced compliant mechanisms, 2009 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, 30 August–2 September 2009, San Diego, California, Paper number DETC2009-87451, 2009. Howell, L. L.: Compliant Mechanisms, New York, Wiley, 2001. Hu, T., Allen, P. K., Hogle, N. J., and Fowler, D. L.: Insertable Surgical Imaging Device with Pan, Tilt, Zoom, and Lighting, Int. J. Robot. Res., 28, 1373–1386, 2009. Jensen, B. D., Parkinson, M. B., Kurabayashi, K., Howell, L. L., and Baker, M. S.: Design Optimization Of A Fully-Compliant Bi-stable Micro-Mechanism, Proceedings of 2001 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, 11–16 November, New York, NY, 2001. Joice, P., Hanna, G. B., and Cuschieri, A.: Errors enacted during endoscopic surgery; a human reliability analysis, Appl. Ergon., 29, 409–414, 1998. Lehman, A. C., Berg, K. A., Dumpert, J., Wood, A. W., Visty, Q., Rentschler, M. E., Platt, S. R., Farritor, S. M., and Oleynikov, D.: Surgery with cooperative robots, Comput. Aided Surg., 13, 95–105, 2008. Li, S. R. and Zhou, Y. H.: Post-buckling of a hinged-fixed beam under uniformly distributed follower forces, Mech. Res. Commun., 32, 359–367, 2005. Lum, M., Friedman, D., Rosen, J., Sankaranarayanan, G., King, H., Fodero, K., Leuschke, R., Sinanan, M., and Hannaford, B.: The RAVEN – design and validation of a telesurgery system, Int. J. Robot. Res., 28, 1183–1197, 2009. Oleynikov, D., Rentschler, M., Hadzialic, A., Dumpert, J., Platt, S. R., and Farritor, S.: Miniature robots can assist in Laparoscopic cholecystectomy, Surg. Endosc., 19, 473–476, 2005. Parittotokkaporn, T., Degenaar, P., Davies, B. L., and Baena, R.: Force vs. Displacement during Tool Insertion: Techniques and Modeling Approaches, Proc. Hamlyn Symposium, 2010. Pluimers, P. J., Tolou, N., Jensen, B. D., Howell, L. L., and Herder, J. L.: A Compliant On/Off Connection Mechanism for Preloading Statically Balanced Compliant Mechanisms, DETC2012-71509, ASME IDETC 2012, Chicago, USA, 2012. Qiu, J., Lang, J. H., and Slocum, A. H.: Microelectromechanical Systems, A curved-beam bi-stable mechanism, 13, 137–146, 2004. Rentschler, M. E., Dumpert, J., Platt, S. R., Lagnernma, K., Oleynikov, D., and Farritor, S. M.: Modeling, Analysis, and Experimental Study of In Vivo Wheeled Robotic Mobility, IEEE T. Robot., 22, 308–321, 2006. Stapel, A. and Herder, J. L.: Feasibility study of a fully compliant statically balanced laparoscopic grasper, Proceedings ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences, 28 September–2 October, Salt Lake City, Utah, DETC2004-57242, 2004. Sönmez, T. C. C.: A Compliant Bistable Mechanism Design Incorporating Elastical Buckling Beam Theory and Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model, J. Mech. Design, 130, 042304-1/13, 2008. Susilo, E., Valdastri, P., Menciassi, A., and Dario, P.: A miniaturized wireless control platform for robotic capsular endoscopy using advanced pseudokernel approach, Sensor. Actuat. A-Phys., 156, 49–58, 2009. Todd, B., Jensen, B. D., Schultz, S. M., and Hawkins, A. R.: Design and Testing of a Thin-Flexure Bistable Mechanism Suitable for Stamping From Metal Sheets, J. Mech. Design, 132, 071011-1/7, 2010. Tolou, N. and Herder, J. L.: Concept and Modeling Of A Statically Balanced Compliant Laparoscopic Grasper, in: Proceeding of ASME 2009 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, 30 August–2 September, San Diego, CA, USA, Paper no. DETC2009-86694, 163–170, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/DETC2009-86694">https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2009-86694</a>, 2009. Tolou, N., Gallego, J. A., and Herder, J. L.: Statically Balanced Compliant Micro Mechanisms (SBMEMS): A Breakthrough in Precision Engineering, Mikroniek, 50, 20–25, 2010a. Tolou, N., Henneken, V. A., and Herder, J. L.: Statically Balanced Compliant Micro Mechanisms (SB-Mems): Concepts And Simulation, in: Proceeding of ASME 2010 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, 15–18 August 2010, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Paper no. DETC2010-28406, 447–454, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/DETC2010-28406">https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2010-28406</a>, 2010b. Tortora, G., Dimitracopoulos, A., Valdastri, P., Menciassi, A., and Dario. P.: Design of Miniature Modular in vivo Robots for Dedicated Tasks in Minimally Invasive Surgery, AIM 2011, Budapest, Hungary, 3–7 July 2011.