Surgical robotic systems equipped with microscale, high-dexterity manipulators have shown promising results in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). One barrier to the widespread adoption of such systems is the prohibitive cost of research and development efforts using current state-of-the-art equipment. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a low-cost and modifiable tendon-driven continuum manipulator for MIS applications. The device is capable of being teleoperated in conjunction with a macro-scale six-axis robotic arm using a haptic stylus. Its control software incorporates and extends freely available and open-source software packages. For verification, we perform teleoperation trials on the proposed continuum manipulator using an electromagnetic tracker. We then integrate the manipulator with a UR5e robotic arm. A series of simulated tumour biopsies were conducted using the integrated robotic system and an anatomical model (phantom), validating its potential efficacy in MIS applications. The complete source code, CAD files for all additively manufactured components, a parts list for the manipulator, and a demonstration video of the proposed system are made available in this work.

翻译：配备微尺度、高灵巧度机械臂的手术机器人系统在微创手术中已展现出良好前景。此类系统广泛应用的障碍之一在于使用当前最先进设备进行研发所需的高昂成本。为应对这一挑战，本文提出一种用于微创手术应用的低成本、可修改的腱驱动连续体机械臂。该装置能够与宏尺度六轴机械臂配合，通过触觉笔实现遥操作。其控制软件整合并扩展了可自由获取的开源软件包。为进行验证，我们使用电磁跟踪器对所提出的连续体机械臂进行了遥操作试验。随后将该机械臂与UR5e机械臂集成。使用集成机器人系统和解剖模型（仿体）进行了一系列模拟肿瘤活检实验，验证了其在微创手术应用中的潜在效能。本工作公开了完整的源代码、所有增材制造部件的CAD文件、机械臂的零件清单以及所提出系统的演示视频。