A precise robotic ablation and division mechanism for liver resection

Abstract

Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) assisted liver resection results in lesser blood loss during liver resections. It involves a time consuming and error prone process of alternating coagulation and cutting until the line of transaction is completed to finally divide the liver. We proposed a new robotic mechanism to automate the ablation and division process. The robotic device comprises a 2-link manipulator, an x-y translator, a flexi-arm as well as a liver ablation and division device. The process of precise linear motion ablation and cutting has been integrated with the guidance of a robotic mechanism to uniformly coagulate and slit areas of the parenchymal. A prototype of the robotic device has been evaluated on its ability to uniformly target a large region. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.