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Machines
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Recent Advances in Medical Robotics
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Recent Advances in Medical Robotics

A special issue of Machines (ISSN 2075-1702). This special issue belongs to the section "Robotics, Mechatronics and Intelligent Machines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 6658

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Clemente Lauretti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies (Creo Lab), Departement of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Roma, Italy
Interests: tele-operation and haptics; human-robot interaction; robot motion planning and control; bio-cooperative systems
Dr. Alessia Noccaro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Neurorobotics Lab, Department of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Interests: human motion control; human augmentation; supernumerary robotic limbs; human-robot interaction
Dr. Francesca Cordella

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, Campus Bio-Medico, University of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy
Interests: biomedical robotics; human–machine multimodal interfaces; adaptive control strategies for collaborative robotics; vision-based approaches for motion reconstruction and human–robot interaction; psychophysiological assessment; closed-loop systems; sensory feedback restoration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Effective and efficient human–machine interaction (HMI) is strongly dependent on the usability, intuitiveness and reliability of the interface between the human and the technology, as well as on the accuracy and safety of the control and feedback strategies. This is particularly evident in the medical robotics field, where crucial aspects, such as the performance of task execution, quality of the interaction between the user and the robot, the user’s involvement and device acceptance, must be maximized. To guarantee attentive usage and fine control of the robotic device, HMIs shall be conveniently tailored to the user’s specific needs.

This Special Issue aims at exploring new trends and challenges of designing, developing and validating user-centred HMIs, including feedback and control strategies, for medical robotics. Authors are encouraged to submit both original research and review articles relevant to the field of medical robotics, focusing on, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Multimodal control interfaces for medical robots;
  • Sensory feedback;
  • Mechanical design of HMIs for medical robots;
  • Haptic devices for medical applications;
  • Tele-operation in medical robotics;
  • Control strategies for safe human–robot interaction;
  • Control and feedback approaches for supernumerary robotic limbs;
  • Biomechanics, kinematics and dynamics in human–robot interaction;
  • Exoskeletons and prostheses;
  • Collaborative robots;
  • Bio-cooperative systems for medical applications;
  • Assistive and rehabilitation robots;
  • Surgical robots.

Dr. Clemente Lauretti
Dr. Alessia Noccaro
Dr. Francesca Cordella
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Machines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • multimodal control interfaces for medical robots
  • sensory feedback
  • mechanical design of HMIs for medical robots
  • haptic devices for medical applications
  • tele-operation in medical robotics
  • control strategies for safe human–robot interaction
  • control and feedback approaches for supernumerary robotic limbs
  • biomechanics, kinematics and dynamics in human–robot interaction
  • exoskeletons and prostheses
  • collaborative robots
  • bio-cooperative systems for medical applications
  • assistive and rehabilitation robots
  • surgical robots

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 9046 KiB  
Article
Flexible Continuum Robot System for Minimally Invasive Endoluminal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
by Liping Sun and Xiong Chen
Machines 2024, 12(6), 370; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines12060370 - 26 May 2024
Viewed by 1410
Abstract
This paper presents a minimally invasive surgical robot system for endoluminal gastrointestinal endoscopy through natural orifices. In minimally invasive gastrointestinal endoscopic surgery (MIGES), surgical instruments need to pass through narrow endoscopic channels to perform highly flexible tasks, imposing strict constraints on the size [...] Read more.
This paper presents a minimally invasive surgical robot system for endoluminal gastrointestinal endoscopy through natural orifices. In minimally invasive gastrointestinal endoscopic surgery (MIGES), surgical instruments need to pass through narrow endoscopic channels to perform highly flexible tasks, imposing strict constraints on the size of the surgical robot while requiring it to possess a certain gripping force and flexibility. Therefore, we propose a novel minimally invasive robot system with advantages such as compact size and high precision. The system consists of an endoscope, two compact flexible continuum mechanical arms with diameters of 3.4 mm and 2.4 mm, respectively, and their driving systems, totaling nine degrees of freedom. The robot’s driving system employs bidirectional ball-screw-driven motion of two ropes simultaneously, converting the choice of opening and closing of the instrument’s end into linear motion, facilitating easier and more precise control of displacement when in position closed-loop control. By means of coordinated operation of the terminal surgical tools, tasks such as grasping and peeling can be accomplished. This paper provides a detailed analysis and introduction of the system. Experimental results validate the robot’s ability to grasp objects of 3 N and test the system’s accuracy and payload by completing basic operations, such as grasping and peeling, thereby preliminarily verifying the flexibility and coordination of the robot’s operation in a master–slave configuration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Medical Robotics)
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13 pages, 32064 KiB  
Article
Effect of Vibrotactile Feedback on the Control of the Interaction Force of a Supernumerary Robotic Arm
by Silvia Buratti, Davide Deiana, Alessia Noccaro, Mattia Pinardi, Giovanni Di Pino, Domenico Formica and Nathanaël Jarrassé
Machines 2023, 11(12), 1085; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines11121085 - 13 Dec 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1734
Abstract
Supernumerary robotic limbs are mainly designed to augment the physical capabilities of able-bodied individuals, in a wide range of contexts from body support to surgery. When they are worn as wearable devices, they naturally provide inherent feedback due to the mechanical coupling with [...] Read more.
Supernumerary robotic limbs are mainly designed to augment the physical capabilities of able-bodied individuals, in a wide range of contexts from body support to surgery. When they are worn as wearable devices, they naturally provide inherent feedback due to the mechanical coupling with the human body. The user can, thus, perceive the interaction with the environment by relying on a combination of visual and inherent feedback. However, these can be inefficient in accomplishing complex tasks, particularly in the case of visual occlusion or variation in the environment stiffness. Here, we investigated whether, in a force-regulation task using a wearable supernumerary robotic arm (SRA), additional vibrotactile feedback can increase the control performance of participants compared to the inherent feedback. Additionally, to make the scenario more realistic, we introduced variations in the SRA’s kinematic posture and in the environment stiffness. Notably, our findings revealed a statistically significant improvement in user performance over all the evaluated metrics while receiving additional vibrotactile feedback. Compared to inherent feedback alone, the additional vibrotactile feedback allowed participants to exert the required force faster (p < 0.01), to maintain it for longer (p < 0.001), and with lower errors (p < 0.001). No discernible effects related to the SRA’s posture or environment stiffness were observed. These results proved the benefits of providing the user with additional vibrotactile feedback to convey the SRA’s force during interaction tasks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Medical Robotics)
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19 pages, 8523 KiB  
Article
Design and Analysis of a Supine Ankle Rehabilitation Robot for Early Stroke Recovery
by Qingyun Meng, Guanxin Liu, Xin Xu, Qiaoling Meng and Hongliu Yu
Machines 2023, 11(8), 787; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines11080787 - 31 Jul 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2205
Abstract
Existing ankle rehabilitation robots are large, difficult to move, and mostly designed for seated use, which cannot meet the early bedridden rehabilitation goals of stroke patients. To address these issues, a supine ankle rehabilitation robot (S-ARR) specifically designed for early bedridden rehabilitation of [...] Read more.
Existing ankle rehabilitation robots are large, difficult to move, and mostly designed for seated use, which cannot meet the early bedridden rehabilitation goals of stroke patients. To address these issues, a supine ankle rehabilitation robot (S-ARR) specifically designed for early bedridden rehabilitation of stroke patients has been proposed. The S-ARR is designed to be easily movable and adaptable to different heights. It features a variable workspace with mechanical limiters at the rotating joints. A kinematic model has been constructed, and the kinematic simulation of the S-ARR has been analyzed. A control system scheme for the S-ARR has been proposed. Additionally, experiments have been conducted on the prototype to measure joint range of motion and perform rehabilitation exercises. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the S-ARR has a feasible workspace and a relatively smooth motion process, enabling it to achieve supine ankle rehabilitation training. This indicates that the design of the supine ankle rehabilitation robot is reasonable, capable of meeting the requirements for ankle joint rehabilitation training, and has practical utility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Medical Robotics)
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