SBIR Phase I: A Novel Architecture for blending Human Power and Computer Control in Surgical Robots

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is enabling greater widespread adoption of novel robotic surgical manipulators within existing surgical suites and workflow. Surgical robotics are currently larger complex systems that result in cost prohibitive barriers in lower volume or rural locations served by community hospitals or ambulatory surgery centers. The proposed innovation aims to develop a novel surgical manipulator architecture platform for maintaining motion and control with a less complicated design approach that maintains the necessary degrees of freedom, accuracy and precision required for enabling robotic surgery including abdominal, cardiothoracic, orthopedic, and neurosurgery. The system aims to enable greater rapid expansion of the $4B annual medical device robotics market currently growing at over 20% per year. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop and demonstrate the technical feasibility of a novel human-machine architecture for robotic surgery combining human power with computer control that provides needed dexterous manipulation, haptic sensation, and ergonomic human factor considerations for surgical procedures. The proposed hybrid scheme combines human power and computer control for use in an operative environment, based on the natural articulation and response of the human wrist. This innovation in medical robotic systems development includes technology development advancemments to actuation systems, information processing, and intelligent controls. The Phase 1 project scope includes (a) the design and fabrication of pre-clinical prototypes of the proposed robotic surgical manipulator, (b) development and testing of the mechatronic and software systems that facilitate the control of the robotic manipulator, and (c) systematic evaluation of the robotic manipulator by surgeons in a simulated surgical environment to quantify and demonstrate the efficacy of a prototype system. 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.