title: A robotic assistant for trans-oral surgery: the robotic endo-laryngeal flexible (Robo-ELF) scope.
abstract: This paper describes the continued development of the Robotic EndoLaryngeal (Robo-ELF) Scope System, a simple clinically usable robot for manipulating flexible endoscopes, particularly in laryngeal surgery. The system includes a robot with three active and two passive degrees of freedom, a five degree of freedom passive positioning arm, a malleable scope shaft support, and a custom joystick controller. The Robo-ELF Scope allows a surgeon to control a flexible endoscope with only one hand and also to release the controls and perform bimanual surgery if desired. We have evaluated the Robo-ELF Scope system in both phantom and cadaver studies and found it superior to hand manipulation of flexible endoscopes and conventional rigid endoscopes.
authors.affiliation: Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA. kolds1@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Olds
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 601 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hillel
authors.affiliation: Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kriss
authors.affiliation: Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Hongho
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 601 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Curry
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 601 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Akst
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Rex
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yung
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 601 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richmon
authors.affiliation: Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Taylor
keywords: Endoscope manipulation; Endoscopic surgery; Flexible endoscope; Laryngeal surgery; Robotic surgery