A Novel Remote-Center-of-Motion Serial Manipulator for Inner Ear Drug Delivery

摘要

To improve the usefulness of actuators dedicated to micrometric applications, a compact and accurate positioning mechanism for inner ear drug delivery is proposed in this paper. This serial novel robotic system is able to position a magnetic actuator based on permanent magnets, used as an end-effector of this robotic manipulator for steering magnetic microrobot throughout the cochlea. The serial kinematics is based on two rotations and one translation which axes intersect at the center of the cochlea that is the remote center of rotation (RCM). The conceptual design of this system which takes account of the medical and geometrical constraints is presented in this paper. Direct and inverse kinematics are developed using the classical mathematical tools of serial robotics. This, besides a finite-element analysis of the structure and motors sizing. The stiff and highly compact manipulator allows saving space while guaranteeing the safety of the patient.