Magnetic Concentric Tube Robots: Introduction and Analysis

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Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new type of continuum robot, referred to as a magnetic concentric tube robot (M-CTR), for performing minimally invasive surgery in narrow and difficult-to-access areas. The robot combines concentric tubes and magnetic actuation to benefit from the ‘follow the leader’ behaviour, the dexterity and stability of existing robots, while targeting millimetre-sized external diameters. These three kinematic properties are assessed through numerical and experimental studies performed on a prototype of a M-CTR. They are performed with general forward and inverse kineto-static models of the robot, continuation and bifurcation analysis, and a specific experimental setup. The prototype presents unique capabilities in terms of deployment and active stability management, while its dexterity in terms of tip orientability is also among the best reported for other robots at its scale.

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Follow-the-leader behavior

Active stability management

Bibtex

@article{peyron_mctr,
author = {Quentin Peyron and Quentin Boehler and Patrick Rougeot and Pierre Roux and Bradley J. Nelson and Nicolas Andreff and Kanty Rabenorosoa and Pierre Renaud},
title ={Magnetic concentric tube robots: introduction and analysis},
journal = {The International Journal of Robotics Research},
volume = {0},
number = {0},
pages = {02783649211071113},
year = {0},
doi = {10.1177/02783649211071113}
}