A novel laparoscopic camera robot with in-vivo lens cleaning and debris prevention modules

Robotic systems have recently drawn attention in minimally invasive surgeries due to their increased dexterity feature. A major drawback of these systems is image blurring due to lens contamination which cause imaging impairment during up to 40% of surgery time. This paper demonstrates a novel laparoscopic magnetic driven camera system with implemented in-vivo lens cleaning and debris prevention systems. This camera robot can cover 150 degrees field of view inside the abdominal cavity and provide adjustable illumination system to improve the video quality. Design details for different modules, such as anchoring, actuation, video capturing, illumination, debris prevention and lens cleaning of this robot have been provided and discussed. This camera robot can decrease the possibility of lens contamination by creating CO2 gas barrier in front of lens. In case of contamination it can clean the lens in-vivo without removing the camera from abdominal cavity. The lens cleaning module has been tested for water vapor and water droplets. The robot is manufactured and each module has been validated by designed experiments.

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