A 3-Legged Parallel Robot for Long Bone Fracture Alignment

Abstract

The reduction of long bone fractures is traditionally an invasive procedure with drawbacks of intense force, soft tissue damage, and, both, rotational and longitudinal malalignment. To combat these drawbacks, we applied a novel, wide open, three-legged, 6-DOF parallel robot, to the current surgical procedure. This platform will balance the accuracy, payload, and workspace for the surgeon, resulting in more efficient, successful surgeries. The experimental tests on a phantom reveal that the mechanism is well capable of applying the desired reduction steps against the large muscular payloads with high accuracy.