SemiAutonomous Interventional Manipulation using Pneumatically Attachable Flexible Rails During laparoscopic surgery, tissues frequently need to be retracted and mobilized for manipulation or visualisation. Stateoftheart robotic platforms for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) typically rely on rigid tools to interact with soft tissues. Such tools offer a very narrow contact surface thus applying relatively large forces that can lead to tissue damage, posing a risk for the success of the procedure and ultimately for the patient. In this paper, we show how the use of Pneumatically Attachable Flexible (PAF) rail, a vacuumbased soft attachment for laparoscopic applications, can reduce such risk by offering a larger contact surface between the tool and the tissue. Ex vivo experiments are presented investigating the short and longterm effects of different levels of vacuum pressure on the tissues surface. These experiments aim at evaluating the best tradeoff between applied pressure, potential damage, task duration and connection stability. A hybrid control system has been developed to perform and investigate the organ repositioning task using the proposed system. The task is only partially automated allowing the surgeon to be part of the control loop. A gradientbased planning algorithm is integrated with learning from teleoperation algorithm which allows the robot to improve the learned trajectory. The use of Similar Smooth Path Repositioning (SSPR) algorithm is proposed to improve a demonstrated trajectory based on a known cost function. The results obtained show that a smoother trajectory allows to decrease the minimum level of pressure needed to guarantee active suction during PAF positioning and placement.

Toward a Versatile Robotic Platform for Fluoroscopy and MRIGuided Endovascular Interventions: A PreClinical Study Cardiovascular diseases remain as the most common cause of death worldwide. Remotely manipulated robotic systems are utilized to perform minimally invasive endovascular interventions. The main benefits of this methodology include reduced recovery time, improvement of clinical skills and procedural facilitation. Currently, robotic assistance, precision, and stability of instrument manipulation are compensated by the lack of haptic feedback and an excessive amount of radiation to the patient. This paper proposes a novel masterslave robotic platform that aims to bring the haptic feedback benefit on the master side, providing an intuitive user interface, and clinical familiar workflow. The slave robot is capable of manipulating conventional catheters and guidewires in multimodal imaging environments. The system has been initially tested in a phantom cannulation study under fluoroscopic guidance, evaluating its reliability and procedural protocol. As the slave robot has been entirely produced by additive manufacturing and using pneumatic actuation, MR compatibility is enabled and was evaluated in a preliminary study. Results of both studies strongly support the applicability of the robot in different imaging environments and prospective clinical translation.