Teleoperation and Contact Detection of a Waterjet-Actuated Soft Continuum Manipulator for Low-Cost Gastroscopy
AUTHORS
ABSTRACT
Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with most new cases occurring in low and middle income countries, where access to screening programs is hindered by the high cost of conventional endoscopy. The waterjet-actuated HydroJet endoscopic platform was developed as a low-cost, dispos- able alternative for inspection of the gastric cavity in low-resource settings. In this work, we present a teleoperation scheme and contact detection algorithm that work together to enable intu- itive teleoperation of the HydroJet within the confined space of the stomach. Using a geometrically accurate stomach model and realistic anatomical inspection targets, we demonstrate that, using these methods, a novice user can complete a gastroscopy in ap- proximately the same amount of time with the HydroJet as with a conventional endoscope.
Tags: Journal Paper