Session 6: Medical Robotics

摘要

Four papers in the Medical Robotics session provided a sample of investigations currently performed and experimentally validated in some of the areas where robots enhance the exploration of the livingness: orthosis where a robot is linked to a human arm with a potential rehabilitation functionality, intra-cardiac catheter explorations with a teleoperated system and, at the microscopic scale, robotically enhanced methods to ease cells manipulation. The first paper, EMG-based Position and Force Estimates in Coupled Human-Robot Systems: TowardsEMG-controlled Exoskeletons by Artemiadis and Kyriakopou-los from the National University of Athens, proposes an approach where EMG signals recorded from 7 muscles are used to estimate motion and force exerted by a human arm when coupled with a robot arm. The recording of electromyographic signals, representing the electric activity of muscles when the contract, is non invasive and can thus provide direct and non-bulky mean of interface between humans and robots, guaranteeing free movements of the human arm. According to the authors, the methods presented is accurate enough to allow robust control of constrained or non constrained motions necessary when controlling exoskeletons. Experiments where performed with a robot arm coupled to a human upper lime. Measured motion and force based on EMG were compared to position measured with a position tracking system to assess the method.