A survey on actuators-driven surgical robots

Robot-assisted surgeries have been integrated and leading to a paradigm shift in surgical fields. With the emergence of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS), especially Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES), there are various benefits such as a minimization of side effects, enhancement of precise surgical procedures, and faster recovery after the surgery that patients can take from. However, in order to effectively employ and exploit surgical robots, numerous technical challenges need to be addressed. Among these, actuators play a vital role. To provide deeper understanding on current actuators-driven surgical robot, this study will comprehensively review on four main types of transmission systems namely cable-driven mechanism, flexible fluidic actuators, smart material actuators, and magnetic actuators, in terms of conceptual designs, modelling, and control as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Profound discussions and recommendations for the future of actuators-driven surgical robots will be also pointed out to give the roadmap in the surgical field.