Humanoid robots, unmanned rovers, entertainment pets, drones, and so on are great examples of mobile robots. They can be distinguished from other robots by their ability to move autonomously, with ...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1729881419839596

A review of mobile robots: Concepts, methods, theoretical framework, and applications

J. DAnwl B8NrL.nd, Ph.D., isIlssU14nt professor Andhed, Physic Section, Dep.:ntm ent ofR.4dUaion Oncology, Wa e Forest Unit/miry School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.G. He ischairman ofthe AAPM Electronic Media Coordinating Committee, chairman ofthe new AAPM Subcommitteeon MoieCHlaTImaging in Clinical Radiation Oncology, and aformer member ofthe AAPM RildiAtion Therllpy Committee. The AAPM is headqNllTtered in College PIlTk, Md. WHO WE ARE The America n Assoc iation of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) h J S ap proximately 4.62S mcmbers who practice or arc associn ed with medical physics.

American Association of Physicists in Medicine

The large interest in utilising fibre Bragg grating (FBG) strain sensors for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) applications to replace conventional electrical tactile sensors has grown in the past few years. FBG strain sensors offer the advantages of optical fibre sensors, such as high sensitivity, immunity to electromagnetic noise, electrical passivity and chemical inertness, but are not limited by phase discontinuity or intensity fluctuations. FBG sensors feature a wavelength-encoding sensing signal that enables distributed sensing that utilises fewer connections. In addition, their flexibility and lightness allow easy insertion into needles and catheters, thus enabling localised measurements inside tissues and blood. Two types of FBG tactile sensors have been emphasised in the literature: single-point and array FBG tactile sensors. This paper describes the current design, development and research of the optical fibre tactile techniques that are based on FBGs to enhance the performance of MIS procedures in general. Providing MIS or microsurgery surgeons with accurate and precise measurements and control of the contact forces during tissues manipulation will benefit both surgeons and patients.

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Advances in bio-tactile sensors for minimally invasive surgery using the fibre Bragg grating force sensor technique: a survey.

A new class of reconfigurable parallel kinematic machines

Mobility analysis of the typical gait of a radial symmetrical six-legged robot

The chapter presents the kinematics of a new parallel robot for brachytherapy. Brachytherapy (BT) is an innovative technique called also internal radiation, which enables the physician to deliver higher doses of radiation to very-specific areas of the body. Nowadays, BT usage is limited by the insufficient accuracy of the radioactive seeds placement devices. Thus, the authors propose an innovative modular parallel structure which overcomes these limitations, enabling the high accurate positioning of the BT needles in any parts of the patient’s body. The kinematics of the new 5-DOF parallel robot is presented. The dextrous workspace of the robot is computed. Some specific advantages of this structure and the conclusions are presented in the end.

On the Kinematics of an Innovative Parallel Robot for Brachytherapy

The paper presents the clinical assessment of a spherical robotic system for shoulder rehabilitation. Following the initial development of the experimental model of ASPIRE robot as part of a modular robotic system for upper limb rehabilitation, the authors performed a set of clinical trials on 18 patients with different neuro-muscular disorders aiming to assess the clinician and patient acceptance, the medical relevance of the exercises performed, the system reliability and necessary optimizations to improve the overall system efficiency. The initial results are promising showing the medical potential of ASPIRE encouraging the further development of the robotic structure.

First Clinical Evaluation of a Spherical Robotic System for Shoulder Rehabilitation

Movement performance in patients with neurological or orthopaedic traumas can be improved with Task-oriented repetitive movement. The application of robotics can assist, enhance, evaluate, and document neurological and orthopaedic rehabilitation of movements. A key point is the mechanical interface between the device and the user, it has to be adaptable to every patient with different anthropomorphic sizes. Furthermore, the mechanical interface must permit the needed movement for rehabilitation while avoiding dangerous ones. This paper presents design of a mechanical interface for a cable-driven rehabilitation device in terms of conceptual design and stress simulation. The interface is then tested during some rehabilitation exercises to test its usefulness.

Design of a Mechanical Interface for a Cable-Driven Rehabilitation Device

In the present research, the navigation of a flexible needle into the human liver in the context of the robotic-assisted intraoperative treatment of the liver tumors, is reported. Cosserat (micropolar) elasticity is applied to describe the interaction between the needle and the human liver. The theory incorporates the local rotation of points and the couple stress (a torque per unit area) as well as the force stress (force per unit area) representing the chiral features of the human liver. To predict the deformation of the needle and the liver, the elastic properties of the human liver have been evaluated. Outcomes reveal that considering smaller deformations of the needle and the liver results in better needle navigation mechanism. The needle geometry can enhance the penetration.

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On the flexible needle insertion into the human liver.

In this paper the constraint equations for two parallel robots for lower limb rehabilitation are derived. A parameterization method was used where the mobile platform coordinates (written with the Study parameters) were eliminated and the constraints were computed with Groebner bases. For the two parallel robots (RAISE, RECOVER ankle module) the dependencies between the active joints of the robot and the anatomic joints were obtained. For RAISE the results agreed with previous ones, whereas for RECOVER ankle module the results showed simple equations which may be used for the complete analysis of the mechanism and for the control development.

Doina Pisla

Papers

On the Kinematics of an Innovative Parallel Robot for Brachytherapy

First Clinical Evaluation of a Spherical Robotic System for Shoulder Rehabilitation

Design of a Mechanical Interface for a Cable-Driven Rehabilitation Device

On the flexible needle insertion into the human liver.

Motion Parameterization of Parallel Robots Used in Lower Limb Rehabilitation