Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wei, Ruofeng, Chen, Kai, Ng, Yui Lun, Ma, Yiyao, Ho, Justin Di-Lang, Tong, Hon Sing, Wang, Xiaomei, Dai, Jing, Kwok, Ka-Wai, Dou, Qi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.14666
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Table of Contents:
  • Endoluminal surgery offers a minimally invasive option for early-stage gastrointestinal and urinary tract cancers but is limited by surgical tools and a steep learning curve. Robotic systems, particularly continuum robots, provide flexible instruments that enable precise tissue resection, potentially improving outcomes. This paper presents a visual perception platform for a continuum robotic system in endoluminal surgery. Our goal is to utilize monocular endoscopic image-based perception algorithms to identify position and orientation of flexible instruments and measure their distances from tissues. We introduce 2D and 3D learning-based perception algorithms and develop a physically-realistic simulator that models flexible instruments dynamics. This simulator generates realistic endoluminal scenes, enabling control of flexible robots and substantial data collection. Using a continuum robot prototype, we conducted module and system-level evaluations. Results show that our algorithms improve control of flexible instruments, reducing manipulation time by over 70% for trajectory-following tasks and enhancing understanding of surgical scenarios, leading to robust endoluminal surgeries.