Hand-held continuum tube robots

We propose a new hand-held concentric tube robot with an associated position control method that has the dexterity and precision of large roboticized devices, while maintaining the footprint of a traditional hand-held tool. The device shows human-in-the-loop control performance that meets the requirements of the targeted application, percutaneous abscess drainage. The compact form factor is achieved through the use of roller gears, which have teeth along two orthogonal directions, enabling simultaneous rotation and translation of a tube with a single component.

Recent relevant papers:

C. Girerd and T.K. Morimoto. "Design and Control of a Hand-Held Concentric Tube Robot for Minimally Invasive Surgery." IEEE Transactions on Robotics, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 1022-1038, 2020.