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Applied Sciences
Special Issues
Medical Robotics: Advances, Applications, and Challenges
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Medical Robotics: Advances, Applications, and Challenges

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Robotics and Automation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2024 | Viewed by 2216

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Guido Danieli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Calabrian High Tech - CHT S.r.l. 87036 Rende, CS, Italy
2. DIMEG, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy
Interests: medical robots; special purpose kinematisms; gears and gear trains
Prof. Dr. Carlo Ferraresi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering DIMEAS, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: robotics; mechatronics; industrial automation; fluid power transmissions; biomechanics; biomedical engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Carlo De Benedictis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering DIMEAS, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: biomechanics; motion analysis; robotics; mechatronics; human–machine interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Medical robots are becoming a fundamental part of health services. They can be designed for a number of different applications, of which we will quote just a few, not willing, however, to restrict the fields of papers to be presented.

Fundamental robots are those designed to be surgical tools to make the work of a surgeon safer and easier, but robotized equipment designed to perform particular exams of a patient, also being able to provide, as an output, a full description of the problems evidenced, is also important. Other important applications are related to rehabilitation tools that enable therapies aimed at recovering physical and cognitive functionals, as well as to assistive technologies that are required to support patients in performing daily activities. The usage of medical robots is also becoming more relevant due to the possibility to limit contact and improve sterilization in hospital scenarios, which have been proven to be even more critical aspects during COVID-19.

In any event, these robots are using all available technology or even inventing new technology; A.I. is also beginning to enter the field, with the aim of helping both doctors and patients.

However, as you can notice by the keywords used, the idea is that they will never be substitutes for operators, which are always the key to any problem’s solution.

Prof. Dr. Guido Danieli
Prof. Dr. Carlo Ferraresi
Dr. Carlo De Benedictis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • surgical assistants
  • computer-assisted surgery
  • physical examination assistants
  • rehabilitation assistants
  • assistive robots

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 7973 KiB  
Article
Cable-Driven Mechanism Models for Sensitive and Actuated Minimally Invasive Robotic Instruments
by Giovanni Gerardo Muscolo and Paolo Fiorini
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(7), 2951; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14072951 - 31 Mar 2024
Viewed by 441
Abstract
Cable-driven mechanism models are, usually, included in actuated systems; however, recently, their use for sensitive systems has been explored. In this paper, two cable-driven multi-body mechanism models are compared, underlining advantages and constraints in using sensitive cable-driven mechanisms for minimally invasive robotic instruments. [...] Read more.
Cable-driven mechanism models are, usually, included in actuated systems; however, recently, their use for sensitive systems has been explored. In this paper, two cable-driven multi-body mechanism models are compared, underlining advantages and constraints in using sensitive cable-driven mechanisms for minimally invasive robotic instruments. The proposed approach could be useful in bypassing sterilization problems for surgical robotic instruments because our system allows for the separation of the robotic sterilizable part from the sensitive-actuated part of the surgical instrument. The real implementation of the proposed mechanism models, presented partially in other works, are validated in this paper, performing a simulation using a multi-body environment. Results confirm the feasibility of the proposed sensitive-actuated approach, defining new bases for the next challenges of the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical Robotics: Advances, Applications, and Challenges)
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14 pages, 2463 KiB  
Article
Performance Qualification of Automatic System for Antineoplastic Preparation
by Giuseppe Tesse, Giuseppe Capasso, Stefano Brattoli, Anna Tolomeo, Vincenzo Dimiccoli, Marco Spartà, Stefano Mazzotta, Giuseppe Altieri, Anna Giannelli, Domenica Ancona and Letizia Giampietro
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 106; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14010106 - 21 Dec 2023
Viewed by 630
Abstract
The preparation of antiblastic and parental drugs should be carried out by ensuring an aseptic condition and minimizing exposure to toxic drugs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality and qualification of these features of an automated dispensing system, called [...] Read more.
The preparation of antiblastic and parental drugs should be carried out by ensuring an aseptic condition and minimizing exposure to toxic drugs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality and qualification of these features of an automated dispensing system, called PHARMODUCT®, built by Bioduct s.r.l, part of the Dedalus group. Three antiblastic drugs (cyclophosphamide (powder), 5-fluorouracil and paclitaxel) were used and three preparation and dispensing sessions were carried out for each drug, using PHARMODUCT®. Some of the infusion bags, prepared for each type of antiblastic, were sent to an external laboratory to perform the quantitative dosage analysis and compare it with the quantitative concentration, set on the automatic dispensing equipment, which was found to meet the acceptance criteria of 10%. In addition, to assess the safety of the process for operator exposure to toxic drugs, the differential pressure value between the main chamber and the clean room was measured to be ˂0 Pa, with an hourly leakage rate of ˂2.5 × 10−3 h−1. Media fill tests showed no microbiological growth after a 14-day incubation period. The PHARMODUCT® system meets the requirements of safety and repeatability for the dispensation of parenteral antiblastic drugs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical Robotics: Advances, Applications, and Challenges)
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18 pages, 6727 KiB  
Article
Autonomous Fever Detection, Medicine Delivery, and Environmental Disinfection for Pandemic Prevention
by Chien-Yu Su and Kuu-Young Young
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(24), 13316; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132413316 - 17 Dec 2023
Viewed by 694
Abstract
In facing the outbreak of the pandemic, robots are highly appealing for their non-contact nature. Among them, we have selected the mobile robot manipulator to develop an autonomous system for pandemic prevention, as it possesses both mobility and manipulability. The robot was used [...] Read more.
In facing the outbreak of the pandemic, robots are highly appealing for their non-contact nature. Among them, we have selected the mobile robot manipulator to develop an autonomous system for pandemic prevention, as it possesses both mobility and manipulability. The robot was used as a platform for performing autonomous fever detection, medicine delivery, and environmental disinfection system for the fever station and isolation ward, which are the two primary units that deal with the pandemic in a hospital. The proposed novel algorithms aim to ensure both human safety and comfort by automating fever detection and recognizing medicine taking. Additionally, they address environmental disinfection by effectively covering blind spots. We conducted a series of experiments to evaluate their performance in a hospital-like setting, which was designed specifically for the testing of intelligent medical systems developed in our university. Quantitative assessment was administered to analyze how the introduction of the proposed autonomous system reduced the risk of infection, and feedback was also collected from participants through questionnaires. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical Robotics: Advances, Applications, and Challenges)
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