Affiliations: [a] State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and
Vibration, Institute of Biomedical Manufacturing and Life Quality Engineering,
School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai,
China | [b] School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Dian Ji
University, Shanghai, China | Université Laval, Canada | Tohoku University, Japan
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Yun Luo, State Key Laboratory of
Mechanical System and Vibration, Institute of Biomedical Manufacturing and Life
Quality Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, 800 Dong Chuan Rd., Shanghai 200240, China. Tel.: +86 21 3420 6078;
E-mail: luoyun@sjtu.edu.cn
Abstract: NOTES (natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery) allows for
exceedingly minimally invasive surgery but has high requirement for dexterity,
force capabilities and safety of tools. Researchers have proposed some flexible
instrument used in surgeries. However, little work has considered the safety
problem of the instrument to human tissues due to the absence of controllable
flexibility and insufficient force capabilities. This paper presents a design
of a flexible and stiffness changeable mechanism which can serve as a tunnel
for NOTES tools. Furthermore, the flexible and the stiffness changeable
properties are evaluated by FEM analysis.
