Robotic manipulation of a human leg for knee arthroscopy

This research developed an automated leg manipulation system that is coupled with essential measurement and guidance algorithms, to build the fundamental pillars toward robotic knee surgery. It enables joint manipulation through joint identification, joint measurement, and kinematic modelling. Algorithms are developed and evaluated to consider the problems of identifying and measuring the space inside the knee joint. To robotically manipulate a human leg safely, a nine degree of freedom kinematic model is presented and verified through tracking of anatomical points inside the leg. It demonstrates that robotics can make a significant contribution to improve the outcomes for the medical community.