Concept and Modeling of a Statically Balanced Compliant Laparoscopic Grasper
The objective of this investigation is to present a concept as well as mathematical modeling and finite element modeling of a statically balanced compliant laparoscopic grasper. To obtain force feedback, the positive stiffness of the compliant grasper was statically balanced by a negative-stiffness compensation mechanism. The negative stiffness has been produced by pairs of pre-stressed initially-curved pinned-pinned beams out of linear elastic material, arranged perpendicular to the link driving the grasper. First, the conceptual design is explained. Subsequently, its behavior is mathematically formulated and then finite element modeling is implemented using a commercially available finite element modeling package. Finally, a stress-optimized design of a negative-stiffness compensation mechanism and the effect of parameter changes on the accuracy are obtained. The results illustrate the efficiency of the applied analysis methods for the case of statically balancing the laparoscopic grasper. It also demonstrates the efficiency of the balancer concept. The proposed procedure is found to be convenient for this set of problems, and can probably be applied to other similar practical problems.