Prototyping and real-time PID control of a 5 DOF hybrid robotic-assisted system for neurosurgery

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Summer 5-16-2025

Abstract

Neurosurgical interventions require high accuracy due to the brain’s intricate structure. Although robotic devices have improved accuracy in neurosurgery, attaining submillimeter precision and adaptability poses challenges. This study introduces a five-degree-of-freedom (DoF) hybrid robotic system that makes craniotomy and stereotactic procedures more reliable. The design has two remote centre of motion (RCM) mechanisms: a 3-DoF main mechanism for aligning the tool and a 2-DoF compensating mechanism for moving the skull surface. Real-time joint control is guaranteed by a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control method that was validated through MATLAB/Simulink hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing. The results of the experiments show that the maximum absolute error in trajectory tracking is 1.32 mm at the primary mechanism and 1° at the compensatory mechanism. The obtained results demonstrate proof of concept and confirm the design’s functional validity. The system’s performance confirms its capability to improve neurosurgical precision while mitigating the spatial and stiffness constraints of current platforms.

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