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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been

fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LRA.2017.2759789, IEEE Robotics
and Automation Letters
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS. PREPRINT VERSION. ACCEPTED SEPTEMBER, 2017 1

Cooperative Continuum Robots: Concept,


Modeling, and Workspace Analysis
Amir Lotfavar, Shahir Hasanzadeh and Farrokh Janabi-Sharifi, Senior Member, IEEE

AbstractIn this paper, we present cooperative continuum


robot (CCR) concept, kineto-static analysis and model valida- Operative
tion. Our motivation is to provide increased reachability and Object
maneuverability required in a wide range of continuum robot
applications, such as medical interventions. We present a model
for the CCR with a minimum number of unknown parameters
by formulating the governing equations of each continuum robot
Supportive
in the local frame. The obtained equations are then reformulated
in a scaled and non-dimensional iterative scheme, leading to a
computationally stable and efficient model of the CCR, at rates (a) (b)

that enable real-time simulation, design optimization, and control.


Figure 1. Schematic view of two frameworks of cooperative continuum
As a case study, a coupled catheters system is chosen to perform
robots, (a) Supportive configuration, (b) Co-manipulative configuration.
the experimental verifications of the proposed CCR model.
Simulations are also conducted to evaluate the enhancement of
the workspace and dexterity of the CCR.
Index TermsContinuum robot, surgical robotics: steer- bring reconfigurability and added versatility, enabling new
able catheters/needles, medical robots and systems, cooperating procedures and applications.
robots. In general, two frameworks are considered for the interac-
tion of the two manipulators in the CCR. In the first framework
I. I NTRODUCTION which is shown in Fig. 1(a), one (operative robot) does the
ECAUSE of their compliant structure, continuum robots planned task while the other (supportive robot) grasps or
B (CR) offer a number of advantages over the traditional
rigid link robots in applications that involve navigation through
supports the first one. The mutual connection between the
robots can be realized by integrating a grasping mechanism
complex and confined environments or where the robot needs at the tip of the supportive robot. The supportive CR in
to accommodate continuous contact with the surroundings. this framework can access the working environment from
Therefore, they have a great potential for a variety of ap- a different path than the operative robot. One promising
plications including maintenance [1], search and rescue op- medical application of such a framework is in catheter ablation
erations [2] and medical interventions such as utilization as procedures for treatment of cardiac arrhythmia where steerable
active cannulas [3], endoscopes [4], and steerable catheters catheters are advanced through tiny incisions to ablate specific
[5]. However, the flexibility of the CRs comes with the locations of the cardiac wall. The advantage of the proposed
price of their lower payload comparing to the rigid link framework over the use of a single catheter is the enlarged
counterparts. Additionally, continuum manipulators usually workspace and improved manipulability of the coupled system
possess a small workspace with low dexterity comparing to specifically for the procedures where the catheter needs to pass
the serial manipulators because of the limitations imposed by through complicated structures, e.g., ventricular tachycardia
their actuation mechanisms. They are also often under-actuated [6]. In addition to providing surgeons with better control over
making their control limited and challenging. In this paper, the catheter tip, the magnitude of the operational forces, that
we introduce the cooperative continuum robots (Fig. 1) as a plays an important role in the effectiveness of the procedure
means to address these limitations, i.e., using an assistive CR [7], can be increased due to increased stiffness of the coupled
to improve the overall performance of the integrated system. catheters. Moreover, this configuration allows multiple entry
In addition to improving CRs performance characteristics, the points to facilitate access and mating of coupling catheters that
developed cooperative continuum robots (CCRs) framework could be difficult or can cause unnecessary damages to tissues
when a single entry point is selected for a few catheters. For
Manuscript received: May, 27, 2017; Revised August, 23, 2017; Accepted instance, in the operation on the left ventricle, punctures are
September, 18, 2017. This paper was recommended for publication by Editor
N. Young Chong upon evaluation of the Associate Editor and Reviewers
made to access from the right ventricle, and if different entry
comments.This work was supported in part by the Natural Sciences and points are made available, such punctures could be minimized.
Engineering Research Council of Canada under Grant DG-903060-2012. The second proposed framework for the cooperative contin-
First two authors equally contributed to this manuscript.
Authors are with the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, uum robots is shown in Fig. 1(b) where two CRs grasp and
Ryerson University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada. First author is also with co-manipulate a common object or perform the same planned
the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz University of Technology, tasks cooperatively. The additional CR in this framework pro-
Shiraz, Iran (e-mail: lotfavar@sutech.ac.ir; shahir.hasanzadeh@ryerson.ca;
fsharifi@ryerson.ca;). vides further stiffness and consequently higher load carrying
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): see top of this page. capacity. Furthermore, the proposed framework increases the

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LRA.2017.2759789, IEEE Robotics
and Automation Letters
2 IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS. PREPRINT VERSION. ACCEPTED SEPTEMBER, 2017

controlled DoFs and the positioning accuracy of the object. the deflection of the flexible elements is assumed to be small
There is a variety of CR applications that will benefit from to allow linear treatments of the problem, whereas individual
these improved performance characteristics. A promising ap- CRs in the CCR structure exhibit large nonlinear deflections.
plication is to use CCRs in minimally invasive surgeries which Several approaches have been proposed in the literature for
involve manipulation of tiny devices or taking tissue samples modeling individual CRs. One simplifying modeling approach
from internal organs. In this paper, we present a modeling is to rely on constant curvature assumption by neglecting the
scheme that can be applied for both CCR frameworks. How- effect of the external loading. Computational efficiency of
ever, we use a supportive framework as a case study to perform this modeling approach and its applicability to a wide variety
the simulations and experimental validations. of mechanical structures have led to its broad applications
[19]. The more accurate modeling approach is to incorporate
generalized forces applied to the robot into the model by
II. BACKGROUND
formulating the static equations of the system, i.e., in a kineto-
In continuum robotics area, there are several previous efforts static model. Cosserat-rod theory [20] provides a suitable
to improve the dexterity and enlarge the workspace of the framework for such a model of CRs. The Cosserat rod theory
manipulators by proposing new mechanical designs, e.g., has been applied for modeling of CRs driven by tendons [21],
using multiple continuum sections [8], dexterous robot base preshaped concentric tubes [11], and pneumatic actuators [22].
[9], multiple embedded tendons [10], concentric tubes [11], There have been several efforts to improve the computational
and parallel manipulators [12]. However, these approaches in efficiency of the CRs models, e.g., formulating the problem
large, constrain the robot structure to single backbone curve, as an initial value problem (IVP) [23], and developing a
limiting the stiffness of the robot in some directions, or impose low-dimensional model for steerable catheters [24]. Other
limited access points due to enlarged dimensions [12]. In attempts include a Jacobian computation method obtained
rigid-link robotics, the concept of cooperative manipulation directly from the Cosserat-rod equations [25] to reduce the
has a long history of successful applications and documented computation time. Apart from modeling single CRs, inverse
improved performance [13]. However, this concept is yet to kinematics of a parallel CR consisting of multiple coupled
be extensively explored in the continuum robotics context. In rods has also been investigated [12], [26]. In the closest work
soft robotics area, coordinated motion of multiple soft arms of to this study [15], [16], a parallel continuum mechanism is
a robotic octopus has been used for the robot swimming [14]. modeled as multiple Cosserat rods, and the simultaneous joint
However, in this study, the soft arms do not have physical constraints are taken into account in solving the coupled BVP
interactions with each other and their coordinated motion is for the rods. In this paper, we extend the previous work
merely studied from the motion planning perspective. Most by formalizing the modeling for cooperative tendon-driven
recently, a parallel continuum robot framework is proposed continuum robots (e.g., catheters). Additionally, we propose
in which multiple needles are used to manipulate a flexible non-dimensionalized formulation to address the convergence
device to perform incision-less surgical tasks [15], [16]. Apart issue inherent in the numerical solution of the boundary value
from these recent developments, the benefits offered by the problem (BVP) formed by the static equations of multiple
cooperative continuum robots can be utilized in other domains. CRs. The expanded convergence boundary resulting from the
In this paper, we focus on the applications of the CCRs in proposed formulation is highly desirable in many applications,
cardiac catheterization by introducing a cooperative ablation for instance, trajectory planning of medical robots based on
catheter system with the following general advantages. One the preoperative image of the target anatomy. We also, for the
advantage of the proposed CCR over the existing CR designs is first time, demonstrate quantitative advantages of cooperative
their reconfigurability, i.e., the possibility of changing the mor- robots over the single robot in terms of workspace and
phology of the robot to better suit to new tasks. This implies dexterity.
that in the CCR structure, the two CRs can join together when The rest of this paper is organized as follows. The proposed
needed. Hence, the flexibility of each independent continuum kineto-static model for CCRs is introduced in Section III.
manipulators is fully utilized yet the coupled version of the Section IV analyses the computational efficiency of the model
system can provide better performance characteristics when and compares the workspace and dexterity of the CCRs
the two CRs are joined. Additionally, the individual CRs in with single CRs. The proposed CCR model is experimentally
the CCR require limited space to access the desired location verified using a coupled catheter system as a case study in
as they can be inserted through separate small diameter entry Section V. Lastly, the paper concludes by suggesting the
points and coupled together afterward. directions for the future research.
From the modeling point of view, CCRs resemble parallel
(rigid-link) robots as both structures constitute closed kine-
III. K INETO - STATIC M ODELING
matic chains. As opposed to parallel robots, in CCRs, the
kinematic analysis does not suffice to obtain the shape of Both cooperative continuum robot frameworks discussed
the closed chain because the configuration of CCRs is not earlier can be treated as a closed kinematic chain with highly
only affected by the kinematic parameters but also internal flexible membranes. As opposed to rigid link robots, to obtain
forces and moments. Parallel robots with added compliance, the shape of such a closed chain, static analysis needs to
e.g., through flexible links [17] and joints [18] have also be performed. We assume that the mass and inertia of the
been introduced and analyzed. However, in these analyses, continuum membranes are negligible and the CCR does not

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LOTFAVAR et al.: COOPERATIVE CONTINUUM ROBOTS 3

exhibit fast motions. Consequently, quasi-static analysis is m()


{W }
perceived to provide an accurate model of the system. To {GAC }
n ( )
perform the static analysis, we first model each CR as a M(s) NC {G A }
Cosserat rod [20]. Unlike the common applications of the P( s ) , R ( s ) d1 (s) N(s)
1 MC
Cosserat rod theory, e.g., in [21], [22], the governing equations {GBC }
{G ( s ) }
here are expressed in the local frame attached to the rods cross d3 ( s)
n(0) {GB }
section. This allows us to minimize the number of unknown
s
parameters and consequently, the computation effort of the m(0) 2
{GA }
d2 ( s)
model as discussed in the subsequent subsection. Lastly, the
scaled and non-dimensional formulation will be introduced to
(a) (b)
address the computational difficulty of the CCR model.
Figure 2. Free-body-diagram of (a) a CR under general external loading, and
(b) a detached CCR.
A. Cosserat Rod Model for Continuum Robots
Continuum robots usually possess high length-to-cross-
section-area ratio and thus can be modeled as a Cosserat
rod [20]. As a common practice in continuum robotics, it n0 (s) + u(s) n(s) + N(s) = 0, (5)
is also assumed that robots are inextensible with negligible 0
m (s) + u(s) m(s) + v(s) n(s) + M(s) = 0.
shear strains, Kirchhoff rod. Figure 2(a) depicts a CR with
undeformed length ` under a set of general forces N(s) where n(s) and m(s) are vectors of internal force and
and moment M(s) where s[0,`] is a scalar reference length moments, respectively, acting on the cross-section originally
parameter, n(s) and m(s) are vectors of internal forces and at s in the reference configuration. N and M ,respectively,
moments, respectively. Note that the general force and moment denote the external force and moment distribution matrices
cover all point and distributed forces and moments along the per unit of s. v(s) R3 is the linear strain of the CR.
robot. The shape of the CR is represented by a set of ho- Neglecting the shear strain and assuming a non-extensible
T CR,
mogeneous transformation between a right-hand orthonormal the linear strain is reduced to v = 0 0 1 . We use
reference frame {W} with the basis ei , i = 1, 2, 3 and mate- linear constitutive laws to map the internal forces and moments
rial frames {G(s)} with the orthonormal basis di , i = 1, 2, 3, to the local deformation of the rod,
also called directors. The basis of directors is adapted to the
curve so that in each point along the robot, d3 points in the u(s) = K1 0
BT (s)m(s) + u (s), (6)
tangent direction to the curve whereas, d1 and d2 coincide
with principal material directions in that cross section. The where u0 (s) is the initial curvature and torsion,
transformation of {G(s)} relative to {W} is represented by when no external load is applied, and KBT (s) =
an orthogonal rotation matrix R(s) SO(3) and a position diag(EI1 (s), EI2 (s), GJ(s)) is a diagonal bending-
vector P(s) R3 . Therefore, we have torsional stiffness matrix at each cross-section along the robot
length with E and G denoting the Youngs and the shear
di (s) = R(s)ei , i = 1, 2, 3, (1) moduli governing the bending and the torsional resistances,
respectively, I1 and I2 are the second area moments of
Neglecting the shear strain of the rod and assuming a non- the cross section about d1 and d2 axes, respectively, and
extensible rod, the local rate of change of the position of the J = I1 + I2 is the product area moment of the cross section
center-line along the rod can be written as about d3 , originating at its centroid. Substituting (6) into (5)
gives
P0 (s) = d3 (s), (2)
n0 (s) + K1 0

where prime represents derivative with respect to the arc- BT (s)m(s) + u (s) n(s) + N(s) = 0,
length, 0 , d() m0 (s) + K1 0

ds . The evolution of the basis di along the curve BT (s)m(s) + u (s) m(s)+ (7)
is represented by the Darboux vector of angular strain v(s) n(s) + M(s) = 0.
 T
u(s) = 1 2 , (3) If the external forces and moments at the tip of the robot are
given with respect to the tip local frame, the internal forces and
where 1 (s) and 2 (s) are curvatures along d1 (s) and d2 (s),
moments together with curvature parameters along the robot
respectively and (s) is torsion around d3 (s) [20]. Con-
can be obtained by a backward integration (from s = ` to 0)
sidering the constant length of the unit vectors, due to the
of (7) and (6) using the the initial conditions at the tip, n(`)
inextensible rod assumption for the robot, the derivative of
and m(`). Once the curvatures 1 (s) and 2 (s) along with
di with respect to the arc-length is reduced to the following
the torsion (s) are calculated, the known initial values of the
vector product
position and orientation of the robot at s = 0, P(0) and R(0)
are used for forward integrating (4) and (2) to determine the
d0i = u di , i = 1, 2, 3. (4)
spatial pose of the robot, P(s) and R(s). Therefore, the pose
The force and moment balance equations in the local frame of the rod can be obtained by two integration sweeps from the
attached to the robots cross section [20] can be written as tip to the base and vice versa.
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and Automation Letters
4 IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS. PREPRINT VERSION. ACCEPTED SEPTEMBER, 2017

B. Cooperative Continuum Robot Constraints Algorithm 1 The SND backwardforward iterative algorithm.
Backward Sub-algorithm.
Without loss of generality, let us consider two distinct CRs
for = End to Base
with known initial lengths and curvatures, coupled to form Calculate () from (13)
a closed kinematic chain as depicted in Fig. 1(a). To obtain Calculate () from (14)
the shape of the resultant CCR, following steps need to be Calculate (s)from (15)
taken. First, the two CRs are detached from the connection end
Forward Sub-algorithm.
point as depicted in Fig. 2(b) and the compensating interaction
for = Base to End
force and moment, denoted with NC and MC , respectively, Calculate di () from (16)
are applied. If connecting forces and moments, NC and MC , Calculate () from (17)
are known, shapes of both robots as well as their poses at Calculate R() from (18)
the connecting joint can be computed using the backward- end
forward algorithm introduced above. However, in the CCR,
these quantities are not known and should be calculated using
the static analysis such that the constraint imposed by the 3 2
= E` I N, M=
1` s, N = E` I M, 1` P,
=
connecting joint, namely equality of the pose at the point of
(12)
contact, is met, i.e., 2
=
`u E` I n,
= E`I m,
= d() d()
d =
` ds
W W BC
PAC = PBC + PA C , where l, E and I are scaling factors for length, Young modulus
W W BC
RAC = RBC RAC , (8) and area moment of inertia of the CR. They can be selected
as the average value of the associated parameters. Substituting
where {AC } and {BC } stand for the first and second robots
(12) reformulates the equations (1) to (11). The important SND
local frames at the connection point (Fig. 2(b)). To obtain a set
equations are listed here for later reference.
of connecting forces and moments that causes the deformation
of the two robots such that the constraint (8) are satisfied,
() + K1 0

the backward-forward algorithm should be called iteratively. BT ()() + () () + N () = 0, (13)
() + 1 0

In this paper, we use Levenberg-Marquardt Algorithm (LMA) BT ()() + () (),
[27] to find connecting forces and moments. The function that +v() () + M() = 0 (14)
is to be minimized by LMA is () = 1 0
BT ()() + (), (15)
 
P di () = () di (), i = 1, 2, 3, (16)
f (NC , MC ) = , (9)
O () = d3 (), (17)
where P and O are, respectively, the position and orien-
 
R() = d1 () d2 () d3 () , (18)
tation error vectors which are defined as W W BC
= AC BC AC , (19)
 
P = W
PAC PAC , W
PBC BC
(10)
F (N C , MC ) = , (20)
W
 W BC O
O = RAC RBC RAC
T d()
WRAC WRBC BCRAC , (11) where, d and

where O is the skew-symmetric matrix representing the error 1 E I E I E I


1
BTi = E IK BTi = diag( , , ), (21)
vector, O. EI1 EI2 GJ
is the inverse of the SND matrix of the robots flexural rigidity.
C. Non-Dimensional Formulation Algorithm 1 illustrates the SND backwardforward integration
In order to minimize the error vectors P and O, the algorithm.
optimization algorithm needs to update NC and MC by Obtaining the connecting forces and moments such that
iterative runs of the model algorithm. However, because of (20) is minimized involves computing the Jacobian of function
the difference in the order of magnitude of the quantities, the F. The advantage of the reduced number of unknowns to 6
numerical Jacobian of the function (9) renders ill-conditioned, (force and moment at the connection point) in the proposed
leading to inefficiency and instability of the numerical solu- CCR model is manifested by the improved efficiency of
tion. To address this issue, we propose a new formulation of the Jacobian computation. To compute each component of
the continuum robot model in which the quantities are scaled the Jacobian matrix, the proposed SND backward-forward
and non-dimensionalized, hence, the elements of the computed algorithm should be implemented twice (once for each CR).
Jacobian hold the same order of magnitude. The benefit of the Therefore, considering the fact that position and orientation
proposed formulation is two-fold: it improves the convergence error can be calculated simultaneously, the total number of
of the solution of the CCR model for a broad range of initial implementation of the SND backward-forward algorithm will
conditions and increases the speed of convergence. Let us be reduced to 12.
introduce the following Scaled and Non-Dimensional (SND) The main algorithm for solving the CCR problem is pre-
variables sented in Algorithm 2. In the initialization phase of the

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and Automation Letters
LOTFAVAR et al.: COOPERATIVE CONTINUUM ROBOTS 5

Algorithm 2 The CCR main algorithm. Table I


Start M ECHANICAL AND GEOMETRICAL PROPERTIES OF CATHETERS .
Read known parameters of two robots Part 1 2 3
E and I
Select `, EI1 1850 Nmm2 190 Nmm2 620 Nmm2
Compute SND parameters for two robots EI2 2420 Nmm2 420 Nmm2 810 Nmm2
Select an initial guess for SND vectors N C and MC GJ 1160 Nmm2 230 Nmm2 540 Nmm2
Call the LMA and Find N C and MC ` 20 mm 77 mm 1000 mm
While N C and MC are not acceptable
ModifyN C and MC based on search region and error function
Call Algorithm 1, and compute WAC and WRAC Table II
C OMPUTATION TIME OF THE SND AND THE INITIAL ALGORITHM .
Call Algorithm 1, and compute WBC and WRBC
Compute the error function based on (20) Original SND
case
Iteration call time (ms) Iteration call time (ms)
End
1 9 34 0.56 4 20 0.25
Call Algorithm 1 and compute SND shape of the first robot
2 13 47 0.77 4 20 0.26
Call Algorithm 1 and compute SND shape of the second robot 3 8 33 0.57 4 20 0.27
Compute un-normilized (actual) values from (12) 4 154 65 9.8 4 20 0.28
End

for integrating the Cosserat rod equations discretizing by 100


algorithm, all robot parameters are converted to a set of SND identical elements. Mechanical and geometrical properties of
parameters. Then, the LMA is employed to find the connect- the three parts of the selected catheters (Table I) which are
ing force and moment. Subsequently, the resultant shape of identified experimentally are used for modeling the CCR in
each coupled CR and the quantities are converted back to the simulations. Two catheters are parallel at the entry points
the un-normalized (actual) values using (12). The proposed (Fig. 3) and the distance between the entry points is selected
CCR model algorithm is computationally efficient because (1) as 40 mm.
owing to the SND formulation, the Jacobian of the function
to be minimized by the LMA method is well-conditioned; and
A. Computational Efficiency
(2) the number of integration required for computation of the
Jacobian is reduced to 12. Further computational evaluation To evaluate the benefits of the SND formulation over the
of the algorithm is performed in the subsequent section. initial formulation, a comparative study has been performed
in this section. To provide similar conditions, two CCR mod-
els with the same initial guess are solved using the initial
IV. S IMULATION A NALYSIS (non-SND) and SND formulation. The initial algorithm is
In this section, several simulation analyses have been essentially similar to the SND except that the quantities are
performed to evaluate the computational efficiency of the not scaled and normalized. Simulations are performed under
algorithm proposed in the previous section. The proposed an Intel Core-i7 PC with CPU speed of 3.5 GHz. Both
model has also been utilized to compare the workspace and algorithms are written with Standard ISO C++ 98. We use
dexterity of the CCR structure with an individual CR. In Dlib library for implementing LMA algorithm. The resultant
these simulations (and also in the subsequent section for shape of the CCR for 6 cases are shown in Figs. 3(a) and (b)
experiments), we use two coupled tendon-driven catheters as for the initial algorithm and SND algorithm, respectively. The
a case study for the proposed CCR platform. Nevertheless, scale of the two figures is selected differently to differentiate
the results obtained from these analyses can be applied for the normalized quantities. As shown in Fig. 3(b), the SND
modeling CCRs that are characterized by the Cosserat-rod, algorithm converges to the solution for all the cases. However,
having different actuation mechanisms and coupling designs, the initial algorithm is unable to find the solution for the
e.g., concentric-tube robots [11]. cases where the initial guess is far from the solution, cases
We use two identical commercially available ablation 4 to 6. As shown, in these cases, the connection forces that
catheters, namely SteeroCath-T (BostonScientific, Natick, satisfy the connection constraints cannot be found by the
MA), to build the CCR. Each catheter has a continuum body algorithm thus the CRs associated with the solutions provided
with three distinct parts. The first metallic part at the tip, by the algorithm have left detached. Table II lists the number
which contains the tip electrode, is relatively less flexible of iterations of the LMA algorithm, the number of calls of
than the other two. The second part, the active steering distal The SND backwardforward algorithm and the run time of
segment, deflects by the tendon actuation mechanism. The the algorithm for 4 simulations cases. As it is shown in the
third part, the proximal shaft or body, is flexible but does table, for the cases where the solution is found namely, 1
not bend by the tendon tension. The tip of the supportive to 3, the SND algorithm is faster due to the less number
catheter is assumed to be fixed to the operative one at the of iterations required for converging to the solution. For
end of its distal segment. A common treatment for tendon- case 4, the original algorithm cannot find the solution and
driven CRs is to model the tendon actuation with a point the algorithm is terminated prematurely. However, the SND
torque at the tip [28], [21]. Equivalently, here the deflection algorithm is able to rapidly converge to the solution by 4
of the catheter distal shaft is modeled by assigning an initial iterations of the LMA algorithm.
curvature, which is the curvature of the catheter in the absence As a conclusive remark, the SND formulation converts the
of external force. In these simulations, we use Euler method CCR static analysis to a well-posed problem, enhancing its

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LRA.2017.2759789, IEEE Robotics
and Automation Letters
6 IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS. PREPRINT VERSION. ACCEPTED SEPTEMBER, 2017

1 1
(a) 0.8
(b) CCR Single CR 0.8
CCRs

0.05 2 2
0.4 0.6
3 3

z/
y (m)

Entry points

y/
0 0.4
0

y/
0.2
4
-0.05 4
-0.4 5 y/
Solution 5 Solution x/ 0
6 Single CR
not found found 6 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
-0.1 x/
-0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 -0.5 0 0.5
x/
1 1.5 (a) (b)
x (m)
Figure 5. Comparison of the performance of a single continuum robot and a
Figure 3. The convergence performance of the CCR model algorithm, (a)
CCR, (a) mid-plane cross sectional view, (b) achievable tip orientations.
Initial algorithm, (b) SND algorithm.

0.5
accessible by the tip of the operative catheter using the CCR.
It is worth noting that with a proper design of the coupling
between the two CRs, one can take advantage of both single
z/

0
z/

and cooperative CR structures by releasing and holding the


-0.5

0.5
coupling when needed.
0
1
1.5 In addition to extending the workspace, another advantage
y/ 0.5
-0.5 y/ x/
0
x/
(a) (b) of the CCR over a single CR is its improved dexterity. To
demonstrate this feature, dexterity of a single CR is compared
Figure 4. Scaled and non-dimensional workspace, (a) single catheter, (b)
coupled catheter.
with a CCR for a sample configuration as shown in Fig. 5(b).
In this figure, both structures are assumed to deflect on a
single plane pointing to a fixed position in their workspace. As
computational stability and efficiency of the algorithm, i.e., depicted, the CCR is able to achieve different tip orientations
(1) the SND formulation improves the convergence of the (9 cases are shown for clarity) while pointing to the fixed
algorithm for a broader range of initial guesses, and (2) it re- position whereas the single CR, shown by a dashed line, can
duces the number of iterations required for finding the solution only realize one orientation for the same location. This clearly
thus speeding up the algorithm computation. The promising demonstrates the superiority of CCR structure in the proce-
features of the SND formulation make it appealing for other dures where orienting the tip of the device is of importance,
applications where an efficient computation of the Jacobian e.g., ultrasound catheters.
matrix associated with the Cosserat-rod static equations is
required, for instance, force estimation, modeling, and control V. E XPERIMENTAL VALIDATION
of individual CRs.
The objective of this section is to discuss the experimental
analysis performed to verify the proposed model using a
B. Workspace Analysis
coupled catheter structure. In order to provide similar condi-
The objective of this section is to analyze and compare the tions with the simulation analysis, mechanical and geometrical
workspace and dexterity of a 2-arm CCR with a single CR. parameters are selected identically to those in the previous
For a single catheter, the workspace involves all the accessible section.
locations by the tip of the catheter for its allowable actuation
inputs, axial displacement, axial rotation and bending of the
distal end. The workspace of the single catheter is shown A. Experimental Setup
in Fig. 4(a) in conjunction with three sample shapes of the Two similar commercial steerable ablation catheters, namely
catheter. As illustrated, the workspace constitutes a capsule SteeroCath-T (BostonScientific, Natick, MA), are selected in
bounded by two interior and exterior spherocylinders. the case study with the properties listed in Table I. The exper-
Consider a coupled catheters system in which the tip of imental setup adopted for the evaluation of the proposed CCR
a supportive catheter is attached to the proximal end of the approach is shown in Fig. 6. As illustrated in Fig. 6(a), the
bending shaft of an operative catheter. The initial relative angle two catheters are mounted on robotic platforms (Althea I) that
of the two catheters at the connection point is assumed to provide axial motion, longitudinal twist and distal segments
be zero. The workspace of the resultant CCR, shown in Fig. bending for the two catheters. The tip part of the supportive
4(b), can be pictured as loci of the achievable points by the catheter and the end of the proximal region of the operative one
tip of the operative catheter for all the allowable actuation are joined by means of a printed coupling as illustrated in Fig.
inputs, i.e., axial displacement and knob angle of the operative 6(b). As shown in this figure, the two catheters are parallel at
catheter along with the axial translation of the supportive one. the connection point. The coupling has been designed in such
To compare the workspace of the coupled catheter system a way that all the relative DoFs of the catheters are constrained
with the single one, both spaces are depicted in Fig. 5(a). yet the catheters can have relative axial rotations. The Aurora
For more clarity, the two workspaces are sectioned by a plane electromagnetic (EM) tracking system (NDI, Waterloo, ON,
passing through the initial bending plane of the two catheters. Canada) is deployed to measure the position of the sensor
As illustrated, an expanded area in the lateral directions is attached to the tip of the operative catheter. Aurora provides

2377-3766 (c) 2017 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LRA.2017.2759789, IEEE Robotics
and Automation Letters
LOTFAVAR et al.: COOPERATIVE CONTINUUM ROBOTS 7

Catheter B
(a) (b) (c)
Coupling

Catheter A

EM sensor

Figure 6. Experimental setup for CCR model validations: (a) catheter


manipulators, (b) 3D printed coupling, and (c) the pose measurement system.

position and orientation (pose) of its small sensors placed


in the electromagnetic field generators measurement volume
with the accuracy of 0.9 mm for the position measurements
and 0.8 for the orientations. In addition to the EM sensor at
the tip, the shape of the catheter is measured using the images
Figure 7. Comparison of simulation results and actual shapes of a CCR.
recorded by a camera located on top of the catheter deflection Simulations are depicted by piecewise colored lines.
plane. For the cases where catheter experience out-of-plane
deflections, 3D data points along the catheter are recorded by 2
Exp.1
an EM sensor that is attached to a stylus. 5
Exp.2
1.5 Exp.3
Exp.4
Exp.5
6 Exp.6
1 Exp.7
7 Exp.8
B. Validation Test
0.5 Supportive
1
Y/L

Two sets of experiments are conducted to verify the pro-


8
posed method. In the first one, the conformity between actual 0
Operative
shapes and simulation results are investigated. Configurations
-0.5 2
of the CCRs for six different situations are illustrated in Fig. 7.
In the planar cases, the length of both operative and supportive -1
3 4
catheters and the bending of the operative one have been
changed for each experiment. For the 3D cases, the operative -1 -0.5 0 0.5
X/L
1 1.5 2 2.5

catheter additionally experiences axial rotation that causes out-


Figure 8. Comparison of the experimental workspace boundaries with
of-plane motion of the catheter. As depicted in this figure, there simulation results.
is a good agreement between the shape of the CCR measured
by the experiments and those obtained through the simulations.
The mean value for the tip position and orientation error for all In general, three main causes for the discrepancy between
the experiments is 1.8 mm and 5.6o , respectively, indicating the model and experiment are identified. (1) Imperfect bound-
that the proposed method provides an accurate kineto-static ary conditions at the entry points: the diameter of the holding
model for the real CCRs. sheath at the entry points is larger than the catheter diameter
The objective of the second set of experiments is to verify causing the deviation of the boundary condition from the
the accuracy of the proposed model in a broader range of model assumption (fixed boundary condition). (2) Imperfect
input actuation. To end this, the boundaries of the workspace connecting joint: In the CCR model, it is assumed that the joint
of the CCR is measured by making the two catheters span is weightless and frictionless. However, these assumptions do
the total range of motion of their actuators. The obtained ex- not hold true in practice causing modeling error, especially in
perimental workspace is then compared with the one obtained out-of-plane configurations. (3) Friction in tendon mechanism:
through simulation with similar boundary conditions. Eight deviation of the initial shape of the operative catheter from
experiments are performed in which the axial translation of constant curvature in higher curvatures due to higher internal
both catheters and curvature of the operative catheter are varied friction causes increased error. This explains the higher max-
from their minimum to maximum values so that the tip of the imum error observed in paths 2 and 3 in which the operative
operative catheter sweeps the boundaries of the workspace. catheter experiences higher curvatures.
Figure 8 illustrates experimental results for the eight cases
and the simulated workspace boundaries. The positional error VI. C ONCLUSIONS
along each path are compared quantitatively in Table III. As This paper presented the concept of CCR platform in which
illustrated the proposed CCR model is able to predict the tip multiple CRs are adopted to collaboratively perform a task
pose of the operative catheter for all the CCR configurations with improved overall functionality. The potential applications
within its workspace. of such platforms range from cooperative load manipulations

2377-3766 (c) 2017 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/LRA.2017.2759789, IEEE Robotics
and Automation Letters
8 IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS. PREPRINT VERSION. ACCEPTED SEPTEMBER, 2017

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