Operation and Human Clinical Trials of RoboLens: an Assistant Robot for Laparoscopic Surgery

Purpose- In this report, technical operation of “RoboLens” as an assistant robot for laparoscopic surgery has been illustrated.Methods- First, the RoboLens® mechanical mechanism and configuration of itslinkage, joints and actuators are illustrated. Then, the software and user interfaces of the robot are introduced. Next, its operation from start to end of a surgery has been evaluated. Also, a technical test for its trajectory tracking in a spherical coordinate has been performed using a standard optical tracking system. Finally, an overall report from more than 1000 human clinical trials in 2 hospitals is investigated.Results- The robot was prepared for the operation in less than 30 Sec and started all the commanded movements including up, down, right, left, zoom-in or zoom-out of the screen in real time manner with less than 50 ms delay. Also, the trajectory tracking of the robot end effector on a spherical surface showed less than 1 mm error in the worst case.Conclusion- Results of the evaluation of the RoboLens indicated that it has theappropriate maneuvering capability as a robotic assistant for laparoscopic surgery in real human clinical trials.