Master–slave robotic platform and its feasibility study for micro‐neurosurgery

Background Microsurgery is a widely performed process in neurosurgery. However, it is difficult for surgeons because manipulating small and long instruments under a microscope often restricts dexterity. Hand tremors are also an issue, as the accuracy required for microsurgery is very high. Method A master–slave robotic platform has been developed for neurosurgery. A position–orientation decoupled design was employed to enhance positioning accuracy, and a smooth trajectory generation method was developed. Result The robotic tasks exhibited improved positioning accuracy compared to manual tasks. Anastomoses of 0.3 and 0.5 mm artificial vessels were successfully performed in end-to-end and end-to-side fashion. Conclusion With the robotic platform, the surgeon was able to perform a fine and complex task, which is very difficult with manual operation. The robotic system showed sufficient accuracy and dexterity, but with a longer task completion time. Further improvement of the dexterity and user interface is expected to realize better performance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.