Design, Development and Evaluation of a Miniature 3-PRS Wrist Mechanism for Robotically Assisted Endonasal Surgery

This thesis presents the design, development and subsequent experimental evaluation of a miniature parallel mechanism which enhances the mobility of instruments for robotically assisted endonasal surgery. The design requirements for an endonasal surgery robot are investigated, leading to the development of a full scale prototype wrist mechanism. This mechanism is designed to be inserted through the nose, requiring compactness in both the mechanism’s construction as well as its motion characteristics. A visual tracking system was then used to verify that the mechanism provides the required range of motion.