Design optimization of concentric tube robots based on task and anatomical constraints

Concentric tube robots are a novel continuum robot technology that is well suited to minimally invasive surgeries inside small body cavities such as the heart. These robots are constructed of concentrically combined pre-curved elastic tubes to form 3D curves. Each telescopic section of the robot is either of fixed or variable curvature. One advantage of this approach is that the component tube curvatures, lengths and stiffnesses can easily be fabricated to be procedure- and patient-specific. This paper proposes an optimization framework for solving the robot design problem. Given a 3D description of the constraining anatomy, the number of fixed and variable curvature robot sections and a tip workspace description, the algorithm solves for the robot design that possesses the desired workspace, remains inside the anatomical constraints and minimizes the curvature and length of all sections. The approach is illustrated in the context of beating-heart closure of atrial septal defects.