Robotic surgery systems are highly complex and expensive pieces of equipment. Demands for lower cost of care can be met if these systems are employable in a flexible manner for a large variety of procedures. To protect the initial investment the capabilities of a robotic system need to be expandable as new tasks arise. To oblige the needs of future robotic support in hospitals, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has developed the versatile robotic system MiroSurge for medical applications. This paper presents a 3 DoF instrument for Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery which is mounted to the hollow wrist of the DLR MIRO robot arm. The MICA instrument consists of a versatile drive train and a detachable task specific tool with its tool interface, shaft, 2 DoF wrist, 7 DoF force/torque sensor and the actuated functional end. With the current cable-driven tool, gripping and manipulation forces of above 10 N are feasible and dynamics is high enough for surgery at the beating heart.

PurposeSurgical robotics can be divided into two groups: specialized and versatile systems. Versatile systems can be used in different surgical applications, control architectures and operating room set‐ups, but often still based on the adaptation of industrial robots. Space consumption, safety and adequacy of industrial robots in the unstructured and crowded environment of an operating room and in close human robot interaction are at least questionable. The purpose of this paper is to describe the DLR MIRO, a new versatile lightweight robot for surgical applications.Design/methodology/approachThe design approach of the DLR MIRO robot focuses on compact, slim and lightweight design to assist the surgeon directly at the operating table without interference. Significantly reduced accelerated masses (total weight 10 kg) enhance the safety of the system during close interaction with patient and user. Additionally, MIRO integrates torque‐sensing capabilities to enable close interaction with human beings in unstructured environments.FindingsA payload of 30 N, optimized kinematics and workspace for surgery enable a broad range of possible applications. Offering position, torque and impedance control on Cartesian and joint level, the robot can be integrated easily into telepresence (e.g. endoscopic surgery), autonomous or soft robotics applications, with one or multiple arms.Originality/valueThis paper considers lightweight and compact design as important design issues in robotic assistance systems for surgery.

Die drei HabitushaupttypenKretschmers—leptosom, athletisch, pyknisch—sind nicht identisch mit jenen Typen, die durch hormonelle Dysfunktion entstehen. In den Hormonen liegt also nicht die Ursache für das Vorhandensein der drei genannten Haupttypen.