%0 Conference Paper %B IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) %D 2017 %T Deployable stabilization mechanisms for endoscopic procedures %A Ranzani, Tommaso %A Sheila Russo %A Schwab, F. %A Conor J Walsh %A Wood, Robert J. %X Abstract:
Flexible endoscopes are still the gold standard in most natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) procedures; however their flexibility (necessary for navigating through the GI tract) limits their capabilities in terms of distal manipulation and stability. We propose a deployable endoscopic add-on aimed at locally counteracting forces applied at the tip of an endoscope. We analyze different designs: a fully soft version and two hybrid soft-folded versions. The hybrid designs exploit either an inextensible structure pressurized by a soft actuator or the stiffness provided by the unfolded “magic cube” origami structure. We focus on the fabrication and experimental characterization of the proposed structures and present some preliminary designs and integration strategies to mount them on top of current flexible endoscopes. %B IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) %C Singapore %G eng %U https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2017.7989134