First step towards an automated designed Multi-Arm Snake-Like Robot for minimally invasive surgery

The development of minimally invasive surgery will lead to the further reduction of incisions regarding single-port surgery using only one single artificial or natural incision. Thus, it appears that instruments and workflow have to be designed in a way that provides a dexterous manipulation of instruments inside the body. The aim should be to support the surgeon with a system most suitable to the specific application. This article presents the concept of designing an individualized robot for minimally invasive surgery (e.g. partial nephrectomy) on basis of our Multi-Arm Snake-Like Robot. The system is designed as overtube for standard optics in minimally invasive surgery and possesses articulated arms to manipulate standard instruments enabling the physician to manipulate tissue from two sides (triangulation of the instruments). By using additive manufacturing and new design algorithms, we were able to design robotic structures adaptable to different clinical applications such as endoscopic or laparoscopic interventions. This paper presents the first step towards a patient, surgeon and task specific automated design of disposable robots.