Design and Implementation of A Robotized Hand-held Dissector for Endoscopic Pulmonary Endarterectomy

Runfeng Zhu, Xilong Hou, Wei Huang, Lei Du, Zhong Wu, Hongbin Liu, Henry Kar Hang Chu, Qingxiang Zhao

Abstract: Severe chronic pulmonary endarterectomy needs a dissector to delicately remove proliferative intima located in the depth of the pulmonary artery. This work proposed a novel endoscopic robotized steerable dissector for this surgery, enabling easier access to curved deep artery branches. The handheld surgical dissector also provides suction and visualization for surgeons to enhance effectiveness. The steerable section is a cable-driven hinged structure, and through an antagonistic mechanism regulating the cable tension, the overall stiffness is adjusted to adapt various surroundings. The mapping between actuation space and shape configuration and tip force estimation model are respectively established for further closed-loop control scheme, achieving adaptive positioning and safe surgery. Experiments first demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed models and ex vitro trials validated the usage and effectiveness of the robotized dissector.