Metallic tools such as graspers, forceps, spatulas, and clamps have been used in proximity to delicate neurological tissue and the risk of damage to this tissue is a primary concern for neurosurgeons. Novel soft robotic technologies have the opportunity to shift the design paradigm for these tools towards safer and more compliant, minimally invasive methods. Here, we present a pneumatically actuated, origami-inspired deployable brain retractor aimed at atraumatic surgical workspace generation inside the cranial cavity. We discuss clinical requirements, design, fabrication, analytical modeling, experimental characterization, and in-vitro validation of the proposed device on a brain model.
Keywords: neurosurgery; origami robots; retraction; soft robotics; surgical robotics.
Copyright © 2022 Amadeo, Van Lewen, Janke, Ranzani, Devaiah, Upadhyay and Russo.