Design, Kinematic Optimization, and Evaluation of a Teleoperated System for Middle Ear Microsurgery

Abstract EN

Middle ear surgery involves the smallest and the most fragile bones of the human body.

Since microsurgical gestures and a submillimetric precision are required in these procedures, the outcome can be potentially improved by robotic assistance.

Today, there is no commercially available device in this field.

Here, we describe a method to design a teleoperated assistance robotic system dedicated to the middle ear surgery.

Determination of design specifications, the kinematic structure, and its optimization are detailed.

The robot-surgeon interface and the command modes are provided.

Finally, the system is evaluated by realistic tasks in experimental dedicated settings and in human temporal bone specimens.