TRANSNASAL SOFT ROBOT

Solution

Such procedures call for more dexterous and less invasive instruments. This is the mechanical design of a soft robotic concentric two-tube manipulator specifically tailored to transnasal surgery, which will serve to access surgical sites in the sinuses and other regions in the nasal cavity. Each tube will be able to translate and rotate separately, allowing for enhanced surgical control. The inner tube of the concentric manipulator will allow for dual functionality. This design allows for the attachment of a soft grasper that can be used to pick up obstacles within the nasal cavity; without the grasper attachment, the tube will be equipped with a suction function that can drain out mucus and other obstructions. The top figure shows the device with the grasper, and the bottom one shows it without (only the suction component). The stiffness of the manipulator will be variable and can be actuated to allow for full surgical control. However, various fundamentals of this design such as tube curvature and the coordinate system draw from previously existing concentric tube models. The design for this transnasal surgical robot serves as a proof of concept and has yet to be assembled and tested in various simulations before reaching clinical stages.