Design of a small animal biopsy robot.

Small animals are widely used in biomedical research studies. They have compact anatomy and small organs. Therefore it is difficult to perceive tumors or cells and perform biopsies manually. Robotics technology offers a convenient and reliable solution for accurate needle insertion. In this paper, a novel 5 degrees of freedom (DOF) robot design for inserting needles into small animal subjects is proposed. The design has a compact size, is light weight, and has high resolution. Parallel mechanisms are used in the design for stable and reliable operation. The proposed robot has two gimbal joints that carry the needle mechanism. The robot can realize dexterous alignment of the needle before insertion.