Tags:Concentric Tube Robots, Robotic Electrosurgery, Surgical Robotics and Surgical Tools
Abstract:
Concentric Tube Robots (CTRs) needle-sized continuum manipulators that can be used in robotic minimally invasive surgeries. Electrosurgery offers a way to enable cutting and cauterization with CTRs. It is straightforward to deliver monopolar electrosurgery by deploying a single electrode through the CTR. Bipolar electrosurgery is desirable for better control of electrical energy and localized heating. In this paper, we present a new design for a bipolar tool where the CTR itself is the return path for current delivered through an electrode that passes through the CTR. We validate this design through thermometry and the robotic resection of a tissue sample in a saline bath.
Toward Bipolar Electrosurgery with Concentric Tube Robots