SCREAM 5: Flexible Steerable Laser Probe for Office-based Laryngeal Interventions

DeMaio, Christopher; Farnum, Julia; Lopez, Jacquelyn; Srinivasa-Gopalan, Ananya

Student Work

SCREAM 5: Flexible Steerable Laser Probe for Office-based Laryngeal Interventions

Public Deposited

The objective of this project is to develop a robotic system for in-office laser surgery of the vocal folds. Laryngeal tumors affect approximately 2.5% of the adult population, and office surgery is emerging as a convenient treatment option for these tumors, as opposed to traditional (and more expensive) surgical treatment in the operating room. Unfortunately, not every patient qualifies for office surgery: recent studies indicate that 1 in 3 patients have tumors in locations that physicians cannot reach with the limited instrumentation available in the clinic. To tackle these issues, we explore a new set of needle-thin, highly dexterous robotic instruments, with the overarching goal of amplifying a physician’s reach during office procedures. We articulate our proposed instruments using a concentric agonist-antagonist mechanism, which enables tight bending in a small form factor. We propose a novel intuitive control system and an experimental procedure to verify its ability to reduce the difficulty of completing the in-office procedure. Our experiments verify the mechanical capabilities of the device and demonstrate that our device increases the portion of the voice box accessible to the physician during an endoscopic procedure.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

Publisher