A new multifunctional compliant instrument has been designed for use in minimally invasive surgery. The instrument combines scissors and forceps into a single multifunctional device. The main advantage of using multifunctional instruments for minimally invasive surgery is that instrument exchanges can be reduced, thus reducing procedure time and risk of inadvertent tissue injury during instrument exchanges. In this paper, the length, width, and thickness of the multifunctional compliant mechanism tool tip is optimized to maximize the jaw opening and the grasping force. The optimized design is then modeled to simulate the stresses encountered in the scissors mode. A 5.0mm diameter stainless steel prototype is fabricated using electro-discharge machining and is shown to grasp and cut successfully.

Issue Section:
Technical Briefs
Keywords:
medical robotics, end effectors, surgery, biological tissues, optimisation, stainless steel, electrical discharge machining, prototypes, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Multifunctional Instrument, Compliant Mechanism
Topics:
Compliant mechanisms, Design, Engineering prototypes, Instrumentation, Optimization, Surgery, Stainless steel, Grasping, Biological tissues, Deflection
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Copyright © 2005
 by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
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