Development of master-slave robotic system for laparoscopic surgery

This chapter provides an overview on laparoscopic surgery. It is widely performed as a less traumatic minimally invasive surgery. It requires experiences and skills for surgeons. In this method, surgeons cut three-four holes on the abdominal wall, and entire operations are conducted inside the abdominal cavity through the incision holes using rigid thin scope (laparoscope) and long-handled surgical tools, such as forceps and scalpel. Compared with the conventional laparotomy requiring large incision on the abdomen, laparoscopic surgery has benefits for patients because of its small invasion and reduction of post-operative pain and hospital stay time. For realizing high quality and preciseness of surgical operation, a new compact slave robot in a master-slave system is developed. It consists of manipulator positioning arm, forceps manipulator, and bending forceps. The chapter integrates them into a slave robot with seven degrees of freedom (DOF). In vivo experiment was conducted to evaluate the basic motion and the feasibility.