Purpose:
Robotics have enhanced and refined microinvasive surgery in several disciplines. Its applicability in eye surgery has been limited by ergonomic and scaling issues. Our aim was to design and build a microrobotic system adapted to the needs of vitreoretinal surgeons.
Methods:
Constraints regarding head positioning and size, ocular access, surgical execution, and procedural requirements were defined by observations at live surgeries, discussions with surgeons, operation room teams, and computer simulations. Additional design parameters for the robotic slave (RS) included a low weight, high stiffness, low friction and play-free design. For the control module (CM), intuitiveness of the controller, body posture of the operator and patient proximity were considered.
Results:
The RS consists of at least two instrument manipulators (IMs).The IM’s design allows 5 degrees of freedom through a kinematically defined rotation point at the entry site into the sclera. Force measurement down to 10mN is possible and manipulation with an accuracy of <10µm. The design allows the back 180° of the eye to be reached. The CM portion consists of two haptic interfaces (HI) with encoders for position input and motors to provide force feedback. A comfortable and intuitive working environment was created by manipulating the HIs to simulate the instrument tip inside the eye.
Conclusions:
A microrobotic assisted system can be designed for vitreo-retinal surgery that meets the requirements and constraints imposed by this type of specialized surgery.
Keywords: vitreoretinal surgery • development • motion-3D