A Robotic Exoskeletal Sleeve for Flexible Endoscopic Surgery

About the project

About the Project Colorectal cancer is the second most deadly cancer (0.94 million deaths, 9.4% of all cancer deaths) in 2020 worldwide. Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD) is a procedure to remove large colorectal cancer tumors by inserting flexible tools into the colon through the anus, without making incisions on the body. Performing ESD is challenging for clinicians because standard endoscopic tools (graspers and knives) are non-steerable and thus not ideal for dexterous tissue manipulation and cutting. Flexible endoscopic robots have been developed to enable clinicians to do ESD more intuitively and effectively with two dexterous robotic tools. However, those robots cannot be integrated with standard endoscopes and tools used in hospitals because of large sizes; instead, customized endoscopes and tools are required, resulting in significantly higher costs and difficulty in adopting them in clinical workflows. Thus, technologies suitable for standard endoscopes and tools would be more appreciated by clinicians. This demand calls for novel design and actuation of the robotic tools that accommodate both dexterity and payload (stiffness) in compact forms. The aim of this project is to develop a robotic exoskeletal sleeve that can be mounted around the tip section of a standard endoscope and can dexterously steer standard endoscopic tools. This sleeve will be a disposable “add-on” to the endoscope and function as the dexterous exoskeletons of the endoscopic grasper and knife that extend out from the endoscope’s tip. The project will focus on the design, prototyping, modeling, control, and testing of the robotic sleeve. The robotic sleeve has the potential to enhance ESD with tool dexterity and meanwhile ease clinical adoption in terms of costs and clinical workflows that are the key factors hurdling the adoption of existing endoscopic robots.

Research areas