Collaboratively Controlled Dexterous Surgical Robotic System for Confined-Space Bone Work

Overview

A miniaturised steerable surgical drill is developed to for bone work in a confined space.

Problem addressed

The human body structure is highly complex and irregular. In conventional orthopedic surgery, doctors have to remove a considerable amount of healthy tissue in order to gain access to the target surgical sites with straight and rigid surgical tools. This will lead to postoperative pain and complications, so prolonging hospital stays and recovery time.

Innovation

The miniaturised dimension (with a diameter of 4.5 mm) and considerably enhanced distal steerability (±65 degrees) enable doctors to access target surgical sites through small incisions
The articulated drill tip is integrated into a lightweight (200 g) pen-style handheld device, and it can be optionally mounted on a robotic arm

Key impact

Capability to steer around anatomical corners without inflicting harm on the patient during the process
Higher-precision autonomous control

Award

First Runner-up in Postgraduate Group, 2021 Professor Charles K. Kao Student Creativity Awards

Application

Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgery
Cranial base surgery
Spine surgery

Website

Through the InnoHK funding support of the HKSAR Government, the Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center (MRC) was established in 2020 by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in collaboration with ETH Zürich, Imperial College London, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Hong Kong. We bring the worlds of medicine and robotics together, focusing on technological innovation with a strong emphasis on clinical translation and direct patient benefits.

Furthermore, we support three areas of research including: Endoluminal multi-scale robotic platforms for diagnostics and therapeutics, Magnetic-guided endoluminal robotic platform, Image-guided robotic interventions.

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