A novel continuum robot for colonoscopy is presented.The aim is to develop a robot for colonoscopywhich can provide the same functions as conventional colonoscope,but much less pain and discomfort forpatient.In contra...A novel continuum robot for colonoscopy is presented.The aim is to develop a robot for colonoscopywhich can provide the same functions as conventional colonoscope,but much less pain and discomfort forpatient.In contrast to traditional rigid-link robot,the robot features a continuous backbone with nojoints.The continuum robot is 300 mm in total length and 12 mm in diameter that is less than the averagediameter of human colon(20 mm).The robot has a total of 4 DOF(degrees of freedom)and is actuatedremotely by 6 hybrid step motors through super-elastic NiTi wires.Its shape can be changed with highdexterity,therefore ensuring its adaptability to the tortuous shape of human colon.The mechanical struc-ture,kinematics and DSP-based control system are discussed; prototype experiments are carried out tovalidate the kinematics model and to show the motion performances.展开更多
基金Supported by the High Technology Research Development Programme of China (No. 2007AA042105)the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT0423)
文摘A novel continuum robot for colonoscopy is presented.The aim is to develop a robot for colonoscopywhich can provide the same functions as conventional colonoscope,but much less pain and discomfort forpatient.In contrast to traditional rigid-link robot,the robot features a continuous backbone with nojoints.The continuum robot is 300 mm in total length and 12 mm in diameter that is less than the averagediameter of human colon(20 mm).The robot has a total of 4 DOF(degrees of freedom)and is actuatedremotely by 6 hybrid step motors through super-elastic NiTi wires.Its shape can be changed with highdexterity,therefore ensuring its adaptability to the tortuous shape of human colon.The mechanical struc-ture,kinematics and DSP-based control system are discussed; prototype experiments are carried out tovalidate the kinematics model and to show the motion performances.
