Kwang-Gi Kim

Laparoscope Manipulator Control for Minimally Invasive Surgery

An efficient laparoscope manipulator robot was designed to automatically control the position of laparoscope via a passive joint on end-effector position. The end position of the manipulator is controlled to have corresponding velocity defined in the global coordinate space using laparoscopic visual information. Desired spatial position of laparoscope was derived from detected positions of surgical instrument tips, then the clinical viewing plane was moved by visual servoing task. The laparoscope manipulator is advantageous for automatically maintaining clinically important views in the laparoscopic image without any additional operator. A laparoscope is mounted to a holder which is linked to four degree of freedom manipulator via universal joint-type passive rings connection. No change in the design of laparoscope or manipulator is necessary for its application to surgery assistant robot system. Expanded working space and surgical efficiency were accomplished by implementing slant linking structure between laparoscope and manipulator. To ensure reliable positioning accuracy and controllability, the motion of laparoscope in an abdominal space through trocar was inspected using geometrical analysis. A designed laparoscope manipulating robot system can be easily set up and controlled in an operation room since it has a few subsidiary devices such as a laparoscope light source regulator, a control PC, and a power supply.