Tele-Operated Robotic System for Endoscopic Diagnosis in Otolaryngology

Abstract

This study presents a tele-operated robotic system that enables remote nasal endoscopy for respiratory disease diagnosis. The system consists of a leader device and a follower robot based on a Stewart platform, providing precise and compact endoscopic manipulation. To ensure sufficient diagnostic workspace while maintaining a small footprint, an insertion mechanism with translational and rotational joints is integrated into the robot. The leader–follower architecture decouples robot motion, allowing intuitive and independent control of insertion and orientation. For enhanced safety, an image-based automatic insertion strategy is activated in non-contact regions and combined with a collision warning algorithm during advancement. In addition, a three-dimensional volumetric model of the nasal cavity is reconstructed using monocular depth estimation and SLAM to provide spatial context after endoscopic image acquisition. Experimental validation demonstrated the technical feasibility of the proposed platform. The leader–follower trajectory tracking experiment without insertion mechanism actuation yielded a root-mean-square error of 2.33 mm. In phantom experiments, the 3D reconstruction error of the nasal cavity model was 1.32 mm. The proposed system has the potential to reduce infection risks associated with nasal endoscopic examinations, thereby potentially improving the safety and convenience of remote diagnosis.