Development of a micro mobile robot in the abdominal cavity

Recently, NOTES (Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery) has attracted attention as a new approach in laparoscopic surgery. This approach achieves extremely less invasive surgery, however, manipulation of forceps is very difficult in NOTES, which brings more burdens on the surgeons. Under these situations, the aim of this study is to develop a micro mobile robot that could move in the abdominal cavity, loaded with a camera and/or forceps. In order to achieve stable movements and surgery support actions, we proposed using peritoneum (abdominal wall) as the surface for moving in the abdominal cavity. Moreover, we devised a robot system that relies on two suckers to attach to the peritoneum, and a cable driven mechanism to realize the relative movement of the two suckers, by which 3 D.O.F. (Degree Of Freedom) movements, i.e., moving forward/backward, turning left/right, and moving up/down could be realized. After examining the suction availability of suckers employed, we built a prototype robot system. We verified that, hanging upside down on the surface of vinyl wall, the robot could accomplish the designated movements with a certain load, which showed potential of using the robot system as the surgery support for NOTES.