SBIR Phase I: AI-Enhanced Robotic Continuum Robotic Instruments for use in Endoscopic Surgery

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is a novel, flexible and portable robotic endosurgical platform with reduced mechanical complexity and integrated AI-based control scheme reducing currently specialized and complex infrastructure. The compact design centers on minimal robotic actuation for the distal articulation of endosurgical instrumentation, enabling integration with existing endoscopes. This approach enables greater access and adoption across a broader range of hospitals and outpatient clinics, enabling earlier and more efficient interventions for conditions, including colorectal cancer. The technology has the potential to accelerate the adoption of minimally invasive robotics in endoscopy, fostering a reliable business model that blends artificial intelligence (AI)-driven precision with cost-effective manufacturing. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to create a handheld continuum robotic system representing a fundamental capital equipment paradigm shift from current robotic endosurgical systems used for colorectal cancer and other challenging endoscopic interventions. The core technological innovation is to develop a compact and integrate-able robotic unit attachable to a conventional endoscope. The key technical objective of this project is to develop a minimalistic mechanical design for robotic articulation and associated algorithms for the mobility of continuum robotic instruments in a working channel, specifically a method to model and ultimately control the nonlinearities of instrument kinematics and controls inside the working channel of endoscopes. This approach of software mediation for capturing mechanical complexity will reduce production costs without compromising performance, providing new control paradigms for surgical robotic instruments across many indications, as it offers a general mechanical and control solution for robotically articulated instruments inside endoscopes’ operating channels. The new robotic instrument will be tested on benchtop and simulated tissue phantom preparations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.