An endoscopic continuum testbed for finalizing system characteristics of a surgical robot for NOTES procedures

Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) has recently attracted lots of attention, promising surgical procedures with fewer complications, better cosmesis, lower pains and faster recovery. Several robotic systems were developed aiming to enable abdominal surgeries in a NOTES manner. Although these robotic systems demonstrated the surgical concept, characteristics which could fully enable NOTES procedures remain unclear. This paper presents the development of an endoscopic continuum testbed for finalizing system characteristics of a surgical robot for NOTES procedures, which include i) deployability (the testbed can be deployed in a folded endoscope configuration and then be unfolded into a working configuration), ii) adequate workspace, iii) sufficient distal dexterity (e.g. suturing capability), and iv) desired mechanics properties (e.g. enough load carrying capability). Continuum mechanisms were implemented in the design and a diameter of 12mm of this testbed in its endoscope configuration was achieved. Results of this paper could be used to form design references for future development of NOTES robots.