Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Laparoscopic ultrasound manipulator with a spring-based elastic mechanism

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Image guidance is a key technology that can improve the outcome of laparoscopic surgery. However, due to the large deformation caused by digestive organs, a computer-aided navigation system based on preoperative imaging data cannot indicate the correct target position of the lesion (e.g., liver tumors and vessels invisible from the organ surface). To overcome this issue, we developed a laparoscopic ultrasound manipulator with two motorized degrees of freedom at the tip, allowing for the performance of a dexterous ultrasound scan in a confined laparoscopic surgical area.

Method

The developed manipulator consists of a compact and elastic structure using springs, enabling a safe ultrasound scan and avoiding excess force on the inspected organs. The manipulator is a handheld device equipped with four buttons at the handle, which the surgeon directly grasps to send a motion command to the tip structure. The developed prototype realizes two motorized degree-of-freedom motion at the tip. The size of prototype is 15.0 mm in diameter that is usable in conventional laparoscopy. The tip of the manipulator was carefully designed by considering the kinematic model and the results of the finite element analysis.

Results

To assess the prototype, accuracy and rigidity were measured by using a motion processing microscope. The accuracy test showed that the proposed device has a fairly accurate characteristic as a handheld device. This was supposedly caused by the nature of compliant mechanism, which does not have mechanical play in motion. In addition, the intrinsic elastic structure (approximately 2.0 N/mm in most of the range of motion) allowed the ultrasound probe to adequately fit on the curved organ surface without extra effort of manipulation during the inspection. In the in vivo experiment, the yaw motion was found to be effective for investigating the vascular network because the manipulator allows the probe to be rotated while maintaining the same position.

Conclusion

The mechanical evaluation and in vivo test results showed high feasibility of the prototype. We are currently working on further mechanical improvement for commercialization and development of a real-time navigation system that can perform three-dimensional reconstruction of ultrasonographic images by implementing a magnetic position sensor at the tip of the manipulator.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Konishi K, Nakamoto M, Kakeji Y, Tanoue K, Kawanaka H, Yamaguchi S, Ieiri S, Sato Y, Maehara Y, Tamura S, Hashizume M (2007) A real-time navigation system for laparoscopic surgery based on three-dimensional ultrasound using magneto-optic hybrid tracking configuration. Int J CARS 2:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Nicolau S, Soler L, Mutter D, Marescaux J (2011) Augmented reality in laparoscopic surgical oncology. Surg Oncol 20(3):189–201

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. (2016) http://www.sages.org/publications/guidelines/guidelines-for-the-use-of-laparoscopic-ultrasound/. Accessed 30 Jan 2018

  4. Oguri S, Arata J, Ikeda T, Nakadate R, Onogi S, Akahoshi T, Harada K, Mitsuishi M, Hashizume M (2015) Multi-degrees of freedom laparoscopic ultrasound probe with remote center of motion. Int J CARS 10(Suppl 1):S242–244

    Google Scholar 

  5. Arata J, Kogiso S, Sakaguchi M, Nakadate R, Oguri S, Uemura M, Cho B, Akahoshi T, Ikeda T, Hashizume M (2015) Articulated minimally invasive surgical tool for laparoscopy based on compliant mechanism. Int J CARS 10:1837–1843

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Arata J, Saito Y, Fujimoto H (2010) Outer shell type 2 DOF bending manipulator using spring-link mechanism for medical applications. In: Proceedings of international conference on robotics and automation, pp 1041–1046

  7. Denadai R, Toledo AP, Bernades DM, Diniz FD, Eid FB, Lanfranchi LM, Amaro LC, Germani NM, Parise VG, Pacheco Filho CN, Saad-Hossne R (2014) Simulation-based ultrasound-guided central venous cannulation training program. Acta Cir Bras 29(2):132–144

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. (2017) https://www.intuitivesurgical.com/products/da-vinci-xi/. Accessed 30 Jan 2018

  9. (2017) http://www.hitachi-aloka.com/applications/surgery/laparoscopic-surgery. Accessed 30 Jan 2018

  10. (2017) https://bkultrasound.com/applications/surgery/laparoscopic-ultrasound-for-surgery/. Accessed 30 Jan 2018

  11. Sandrin L, Fourquet B, Hasquenoph JM, Yon S, Fournier C, Mal F, Christidis C, Ziol M, Poulet B, Kazemi F, Beaugrand M, Palau R (2013) Transient elastography: a new noninvasive method for assessment of hepatic fibrosis. Ultrasound Med Biol 29(12):1705–1713

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Sato H, Harada K, Arata J, Oguri S, Onogi S, Ikeda T, Hashizume M, Mitsuishi M (2016) Design and prototyping of handheld 3-DOF laparoscopic ultrasound manipulator. Procedia CIRP 49:121–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Takachi Y, Masuda K, Yasunaga T, Aoki Y (2011) Development of support system for handling ultrasound probe to alleviate fatigue of physician by introducing a coordinated motion with robot. J Robot Soc Jpn 29(7):634–642 (in Japanese)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Onogi S, Ikeda T, Arata J, Nakadate R, Oguri S, Akahoshi T, Harada K, Mitsuishi M, Hashizume M (2016) Intra-operative three dimensional ultrasound reconstruction and visualization for endoscopic liver surgery. Int J CARS 11(Suppl 1):S256–257

    Google Scholar 

  15. Onogi S, Nakadate R, Arata J, Akahoshi T, Ikeda T, Hashizume M (2017) Technical trial of GPGPU volume reconstruction by using a tablet PC for practical clinical navigation system. Int J CARS 12(1):S96–97

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), Research on Development of New Medical Devices (15hk0102005h0002).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan

    Jumpei Arata

  2. Center for Advanced Medical Innovation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Jumpei Arata, Shinya Onogi, Ryu Nakadate & Makoto Hashizume

  3. Department of Advanced Medical Initiatives, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Susumu Oguri, Tetsuo Ikeda, Tomohiko Akahoshi & Makoto Hashizume

  4. Department of Engineering Physics, Electronics and Mechanics, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya, Japan

    Kazunari Fukami & Masamichi Sakaguchi

  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Jumpei Arata, Kanako Harada & Mamoru Mitsuishi

Authors
  1. Jumpei Arata
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kazunari Fukami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Susumu Oguri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shinya Onogi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tetsuo Ikeda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ryu Nakadate
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Masamichi Sakaguchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Tomohiko Akahoshi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Kanako Harada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Mamoru Mitsuishi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Makoto Hashizume
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jumpei Arata.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Jumpei Arata, Kazunari Fukami, Susumu Oguri, Tetsuo Ikeda, Ryu Nakadate, Shinya Onogi, Masamichi Sakaguchi, Kanako Harada, Mamoru Mitsuishi, and Makoto Hashizume declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and animal rights

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors. All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Arata, J., Fukami, K., Oguri, S. et al. Laparoscopic ultrasound manipulator with a spring-based elastic mechanism. Int J CARS 13, 1063–1072 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-018-1709-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-018-1709-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation