Accelerometer Based Absolute Positioning for a Miniature In-Vivo Surgical Robot

Abstract

The development and adoption of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in the 1990's was a pivotal advancement in general surgery. MIS techniques allow surgeries to be performed through a few small incisions instead of one large incision. Laparoendoscopic Single-Site Surgery (LESS) has recently gained interest as an MIS procedure [1]. Many relatively simple surgical tasks are currently performed using LESS, but there are factors that limit the use of LESS in more advanced procedures, such as colon resection. To apply LESS to more complex surgical procedures, new tools must be developed to overcome these limitations. Miniature in vivo surgical robots have been developed that can address these problems and provide an alternative method to convert open abdominal procedures to a minimally invasive method.