Design and analysis of a continuum robot for transnasal skull base surgery.

BACKGROUND The traditional surgical instruments for transnasal endoscopic skull base surgery have poor flexibility and continuum robot has attracted extensive attention for its high dexterity and safety. METHODS A new type of micro continuum surgical robot is designed. On the basis of kinematic analysis, a superposition method is proposed to analyse the reachable configuration space of the system, and the workspace is analysed. The results obtained by superposition method can provide reference for the selection of joint parameters. At last, the static model of the system is established considering friction and coupling between two segments. RESULTS The simulation results show that the workspace can meet the requirements of surgery. And the validity of the static model is verified by numerical simulation and experiment, which lays a foundation for the establishment of the driving force transmission system and precise control of the robot. CONCLUSIONS The research results of this study contribute to the real-time control and movement of robot. The proposed continuum robot provides convenient conditions for the clinical application.