Development of MRI compatible versatile manipulator for minimally invasive surgery - Prototype of positioning manipulator

In this paper, a MRI compatible versatile manipulator for minimally invasive surgery was proposed. MRI affords images with high anatomical resolution and contrast. Therefore surgical robotic operations are required during in-MRI surgery with confirmation of the precise position of deep seated tumors. The manipulator was designed to be small enough to operate for surgery within the vertically limited MRI gantry space. In addition, to avoid the influence of the high magnetic field, this manipulator was actuated by ultrasonic motors located outside the MRI gantry and transmitted by timing belts. This manipulator is used to control the precise position of surgical tools such as the forceps manipulator, securing workspace manipulator or endoscope. And the surgical tools are interchangeable. Therefore this manipulator can be used for various surgeries for example heart surgery, liver surgery, gallbladder surgery and so on. To the best of the knowledge of the investigating authors, this manipulator is the first versatile surgical robot with MRI compatibility.