摘要
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.
A novel continuum robot for colonoscopy is presented. The aim is to develop a robot for colonoscopy which can provide the same functions as conventional colonoscope, but much less pain and discomfort for patient. In contrast to traditional rigid-link robot, the robot features a continuous backbone with no joints. The continuum robot is 300 mm in total length and 12 mm in diameter that is less than the average diameter of human colon （20 mm）. The robot has a total of 4 DOF （degrees of freedom） and is actuated remotely by 6 hybrid step motors through super-elastic NiTi wires. Its shape can be changed with high dexterity, therefore ensuring its adaptability to the tortuous shape of human colon. The mechanical structure, kinematics and DSP-based control system are discussed; prototype experiments are carried out to validate the kinematics model and to show the motion performances.
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)
