A novel microsurgery robot mechanism with mechanical motion scalability for intraocular and reconstructive surgery

Intraocular surgery and reconstructive surgery are challenging microsurgery procedures that require two types of motion: precise motion and larger motion. To effectively perform the requisite motion using a robot, it is necessary to develop a manipulator that can adjust the scale of motion between precise motion and less precise, yet larger motion. In this paper, we propose a novel microsurgery robot using the dual delta structure to mechanically scale the motion to seamlessly adjust between precise and larger motion. The dual delta structure (DDS) forms a lever mechanism that enables the motion scaling at the end-effecter using two delta platforms. Seamless scale adjustment enables the robot to effectively perform various surgical moves. A prototype robot system was developed to validate the effectiveness of the DDS. Through a graphical simulation and measurement experiment, the robot's precision level and attainable workspace has been confirmed adequate for intraocular and reconstructive surgery. The experiment results in various scale settings validated the scaling mechanism of the DDS. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.