Modular Assembly Micro-Robots for Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery, the Future of Minimal Invasive Surgery

Apollon Zygomalas, Kostas Giokas and Dimitris Koutsouris
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Apollon Zygomalas: Informatics for Life Sciences, University of Patras & Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of Patras, Patras, Greece
Kostas Giokas: Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Division of Information Transmission Systems and Material Technology, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Dimitris Koutsouris: Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Division of Information Transmission Systems and Material Technology, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

International Journal of Reliable and Quality E-Healthcare (IJRQEH), 2012, vol. 1, issue 4, 43-55

Abstract: Surgical operations are progressively being performed using minimally invasive techniques. Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) is a novel surgical technique that uses the natural orifices of the human body in order to approach the peritoneal cavity. There are two basic types of robotics for NOTES; the external robots that stay outside the patient but act inside the abdominal cavity, and the internal robots that stay and act in the abdomen. The internal robots could only be mini-robots. The development of modular assembling reconfigurable micro-robots is a revolutionary idea for the NOTES. Modular micro-robots consist of small subunits which could be assembled and construct a functional miniature robot. These surgical micro-robots may increase the possibility for true scarless tele-surgery. Although specific applications of intrabdominal surgical micro-robots are still in an early concept stage, the field is rapidly evolving. In the future, patients may be operated by specialized micro-robotic intrabdominal surgeons.

Date: 2012
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