Intelligent Control Algorithms for Robotic-Assisted Beating Heart Surgery

This paper focuses on the development of control algorithms for intelligent robotic tools that assist off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. In the robotic-assisted CABG surgery, the surgeon operates on the beating heart using intelligent robotic instruments. Robotic tools actively cancel the relative motion between the surgical instruments and the point of interest on the beating heart, dynamically stabilizing the heart for the operation. This algorithm is called active relative motion canceling (ARMC). Here, a model-based intelligent ARMC algorithm employing biological signals, such as electrocardiogram, to achieve effective motion cancellation is proposed. Finally, experimental results of the algorithm on a 3-degree-of-freedom robotic test-bed system are reported.