A robotic assistant for trans-oral surgery: the robotic endo-laryngeal flexible (Robo-ELF) scope

Kevin Olds; Alexander Hillel; Jonathan Kriss; Archana Nair; Hongho Kim; Elizabeth Cha; Martin Curry; Lee Akst; Rex Yung; Jeremy Richmon; Russell Taylor

doi:10.1007/s11701-011-0329-9

A robotic assistant for trans-oral surgery: the robotic endo-laryngeal flexible (Robo-ELF) scope

J Robot Surg. 2012 Mar;6(1):13-8. doi: 10.1007/s11701-011-0329-9. Epub 2011 Dec 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA. [email protected].
² Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 601 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
⁴ Department of Pulmonology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA.

PMID: 27637974
DOI: 10.1007/s11701-011-0329-9

Abstract

This paper describes the continued development of the Robotic EndoLaryngeal (Robo-ELF) Scope System, a simple clinically usable robot for manipulating flexible endoscopes, particularly in laryngeal surgery. The system includes a robot with three active and two passive degrees of freedom, a five degree of freedom passive positioning arm, a malleable scope shaft support, and a custom joystick controller. The Robo-ELF Scope allows a surgeon to control a flexible endoscope with only one hand and also to release the controls and perform bimanual surgery if desired. We have evaluated the Robo-ELF Scope system in both phantom and cadaver studies and found it superior to hand manipulation of flexible endoscopes and conventional rigid endoscopes.

Keywords: Endoscope manipulation; Endoscopic surgery; Flexible endoscope; Laryngeal surgery; Robotic surgery.