BACKGROUND: Surgical instruments greatly impact the performance of robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) because they operate on tissues. METHODS: A snake-like surgical instrument, designed with 4 degrees of freedom (DOFs), is proposed for RMIS. The DOFs are as follows: opening and closing motions of the forceps, rotation of the forceps and bi-directional bending of the instrument. The performance of the instrument was evaluated using a prototype in vitro. RESULTS: All DOFs of the instrument were experimentally evaluated and proven sufficient for RMIS. In vitro testing showed that the operations of the proposed model were powerful and steady. CONCLUSIONS: The position and posture of the surgical instrument could be adjusted in the body of the patient by its bending and rotational movements. The proposed model could therefore work as a competent assistant in multi-port RMIS and allow surgeons to perform better.
BACKGROUND: Surgical instruments greatly impact the performance of robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) because they operate on tissues. METHODS: A snake-like surgical instrument, designed with 4 degrees of freedom (DOFs), is proposed for RMIS. The DOFs are as follows: opening and closing motions of the forceps, rotation of the forceps and bi-directional bending of the instrument. The performance of the instrument was evaluated using a prototype in vitro. RESULTS: All DOFs of the instrument were experimentally evaluated and proven sufficient for RMIS. In vitro testing showed that the operations of the proposed model were powerful and steady. CONCLUSIONS: The position and posture of the surgical instrument could be adjusted in the body of the patient by its bending and rotational movements. The proposed model could therefore work as a competent assistant in multi-port RMIS and allow surgeons to perform better.