Integration of a flexible endoscope into the DLR MiroSurge system

Abstract

Due to population growth and change in lifestyle, the incidence rate of renal and urinary stone disease increased over the last decades. Because of innovations in the field of endoscopy, ureteroscopy (URS) is nowadays the first-line modality to treat nephrolithiasis. It allows the surgeon to remove stones without the need for incisions and shows a better stone-free rate (SFR) after the first treatment than other methods. The downside of this technique, however, is the higher workload on the medical staff, as minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is known to be more unergonomic as traditional treatments. Robotic systems have the potential to improve the ergonomics and accuracy, as devices for laparoscopic surgery (LS) have already proven. This thesis describes the integration of an ureteroscope into DLR MiroSurge system. A functional prototype was designed and constructed, to test the benefit of robotic assistance for URS. Additionally a setup for optically measure the properies of the flexible tip of an endoscope was developed, that includes an algorithm for determen the tip angle and position without the need for markers.