Semi-automatic Knob System for Assisting Flexible Endoscope Steering

In this paper, a semi-automatic knob system for assisting control of flexible endoscope is introduced. For conventional flexible endoscope, the torque to bend the bending part is increased proportionally to the curvature of the insertion tube. As the bending angle increases, the required torque is increased. This characteristic makes a surgeon tired. The proposed semi-automatic knob system consists of a knob controller, a power generation unit, and a bending part. The knob controller includes four FSR (force sensitive resistor) sensors to measure external force applied by the operator. The power generation unit generates the power depending on the signal level of FSR sensors. Using the semi-automatic knob system, a user can control the steering of the flexible endoscope with less power as compared to conventional flexible endoscope. The usefulness of the proposed system is verified through experiments.