title: Experimental evaluation of a novel steerable probe with a programmable bevel tip inspired by nature.
abstract: The ability to steer flexible needles and probes to access deep anatomical locations safely for medical diagnosis and treatment represents a current clinical and engineering research challenge. The behaviour of parasitic wasps has inspired the development of a novel steerable and flexible multi-part probe, which allows the control of its approach angle by adjusting the steering offset between probe segments, i.e. by means of a programmable bevel tip. This paper describes the experimental evaluation of several scaled-up proof-of-concept flexible probe prototypes to explore the effects of tip design (bevel-tip angle) and dimensions (outer diameter) on steering. For each prototype, a linear relationship between steering offset and curvature is confirmed. The effect of probe diameter and bevel-tip angle on steering performance is also analysed, with results confirming that larger bevel-tip angles and smaller probe diameters lead to larger curvature values, although improved steering comes at the price of a less stable insertion process.
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London, London, UK.|Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Frasson
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferroni
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Seong Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Gorkem
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dogangil
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London, London, UK. f.rodriguez@imperial.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodriguez Y Baena
keywords: Bevel tip; Biomimetics; Medical robotics; Needle steering; Soft tissue surgery