A miniature robotic device applicable to a flexible endoscope for the surgical dissection of gastro-intestinal tract surface neoplasms

The present invention refers to the field of mini-invasive surgery of the digestive tract and in particular it concerns the medical treatment of early neoplasms tract through endoluminal local excisions. More precisely, the invention consists of a miniature robotic device that is designed to be coupled to a traditional flexible endoscope for the surgical dissection of gastrointestinal tract early neoplasms. The device includes a cap body with two robotic arms for performing manipulation and surgical tissue dissection. This device also includes a pneumatically actuation principle for sliding the robotic arms along the cap body and placing them in an operative position, in which they protrude from the body. Each arm has three degrees of freedom, which is enough for this kind of application.

The advantages in using this robotic device are various: a high operational accuracy and a complete lesion removal are guaranteed, an endoscopic room is enough, the patient does not undergo surgery under general anesthesia, and the hospitalization times and so the general hospital costs are significantly reduced.