Development of a safe disposable laparoscope manipulator using hydraulic actuators

This paper describes the development of a novel laparoscope manipulator using the medical hydraulic linear actuators, called P-arm. The manipulator is composed of a Stewart-Gough Platform with six degrees of freedom and six hydraulic linear actuators, and can hold a general laparoscope. In the current prototype, the position of a laparoscope can be controlled through a joystick interface. To evaluate the performance of this newly developed manipulator, an experiment was conducted in which a surgeon used the manipulator to perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy simulations and an in vivo laparoscopic cholecystectomy on a pig. As a result, the manipulator could replace a human assistant during the operation.