Gynecological Tendon-Driven Continuum Robots: Design and Experimentation

Most gynecological interventions do not take advantage of the possible access through the natural orifice to the operating zone and/or use rigid tools, which leads to more invasive procedures. The purpose of this research is to reduce invasiveness by creating a natural orifice endoscopic surgical tool. By analyzing the varied anatomies present in patients to extract functional requirements, we propose a conceptual design that allows for better navigation of the environment thanks to a custom design with active control over endoscope shape. We manufactured and tested this new design of a tendon-driven continuum robot in a phantom that is representative of the geometrical properties and variability of a uterus, validating its operation and functionality.