Preliminary Study in a Novel Robotic-Assisted Femoral Shaft Fracture Reduction System

The minimally invasive surgical operation of intramedullary nailing has prevailed as a standard technique for a definite stabilizing treatment in femoral shaft fractures, and reduction is a critical step before carrying out an invasive operation. However, there are some disadvantages about this technology, such as the frequent radiation exposure for the operator and patients. This paper describes a novel cuff-type robotic-assisted femoral shaft fracture repositioning system, and preliminary discusses the constitutive modeling of passive transverse mechanical properties of skeletal muscle. Skeletal traction and fragments alignment for femur fracture reduction can be performed separately, which are standard procedures for surgeons in clinical. Correspondingly, the robotic system consists of distraction device, cuff-type reduction unit and remote control system. Preliminary experiments based on artificial models have been done, and the results show the effectiveness of the proposed robotic-assisted system, and indicate the potential value for further study.