A cable-driven soft robotic end-effector actuator for probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy: Development and preclinical validation

Soft robotics is becoming a popular choice for end-effectors. An end-effector was designed that has various advantages including ease of manufacturing, simplicity and control. This device may have the advantage of enabling probe-based devices to intraoperatively measure cancer histology, because it can flexibly and gently position a probe perpendicularly over an area of delicate tissue. This is demonstrated in a neurosurgical setting where accurate cancer resection has been limited by lack of accurate visualisation and impaired tumour margin delineation with the need for in-situ histology. Conventional surgical robotic end-effectors are unsuitable to accommodate a probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (p-CLE) probe because of their rigid and non-deformable properties, which can damage the thin probe. We have therefore designed a new soft robotic platform, which is advantageous by conforming to the probe's shape to avoid damage and to facilitate precision scanning.