Complete Geometric Analysis Using the Study SE(3) Parameters for a Novel, Minimally Invasive Robot Used in Liver Cancer Treatment

The paper presents a complete geometric analysis of a novel parallel medical robotic system designed for minimally invasive treatment of hepatic tumors using brachytherapy, ablation or targeted chemotherapy. An algebraic method based on the study parameters of the special Euclidean transformation Lie group SE(3) was used to determine the mechanism kinematics singularities and workspace. Moreover, two particular medical tool manipulations for the minimally invasive medical procedures are defined in terms of the Study parameters. The first manipulation of the medical tool refers to the linear insertion (of e.g., needles) and the second one is the remote center of motion manipulation of specific medical instruments (e.g., ultrasound probes). The constraint equations of the robotic system are derived and then, the operational workspace is illustrated for the novel parallel robotic system. Lastly, a numerical simulation is presented showing the behavior of the robotic system manipulating the ultrasound probe constrained by the remote center of motion. The geometric analysis of the operational workspace and the numerical simulation show promising results that validate the novel robotic system (safe-wise) for the medical procedure.