StapBot: An autonomous surgical suturing robot using staples

This paper presents the design of a new autonomous surgical suturing robot StapBot using staples. This system is designed for performing wounds closure in Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS). StapBot is equipped with a translational platform composed of different types of sensors for detecting all wound´s characteristics and two automated robotic arms for clamping and stapling. Embedded algorithms analyze the collected data in real time and send computed results to actuators to use the appropriate type and size of staples, set the clamping arm to a specific position, and determine the motion of the of the automated stapling arm that will perform the stitching operation. This procedure consists on successive mechanic impulsions to fix the staples on the epidermis. In this paper, we discuss the sensing platform with the related proposed algorithms for an autonomous suturing operation. Furthermore, a draft cost study of the proposed StapBot is presented.