Design and research of a corneal grafting robotic system

Due to the demands for accuracy and stability in corneal grafting microsurgery, it is rather difficult for surgeon to deal with it independently. To achieve corneal grafting automation, the robotic system for corneal grafting microsurgery is proposed and designed preliminarily using modularization. The robot prototype and the end-effectors (trephine and gripper) are developed, and the overall schematic diagram of the system is put forward. Finally, the experiments of trephination, suturing and knot-tying manipulation are implemented; the last two are based on the planning methods for suturing theoretical trajectory and knottying sequences. Meantime, the Stitching force-testing data is also obtained. The results show that the proposed robotic system is feasible in the automation of corneal grafting microsurgery.