**3.5 Monarch platform**

Auris Health, Inc. (US) is a potential company which can develop flexible endoscopic robot [46]. They have already cleared FDA and launched the Monarch platform in 2018, which is a bronchoscopy treatment robot. They previously acquired Hansen Medical, which had technology for bending catheter for cardiovascular use. At the moment, they focus on lung treatment.

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*Intelligent Information-Guided Robotic Surgery DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82191*

*ESD platform (manually driven) of Kyushu University, Japan.*

**Figure 10.**

**Figure 11.**

**3.6 Kyushu University ESD robot**

*ESD platform (motorized) of Kyushu University, Japan.*

**4. Other robotic application**

**4.1 Teleoperation**

Animal experiments have been carried out [47, 48].

We have also been developing flexible endoscopic platforms for ESD in manually driven version [47, 48] (**Figure 10**) and motorized version [49] (**Figure 11**). They composed of conventional flexible endoscope, two 2.6-mm articulating instruments, and an additional channel. By using standard endoscope for ESD, total system cost is minimized. The diameter of instruments is very thin because the standard endoscope has 2.8 mm channel. Control part on a stand is designed, so that both handles of the instruments and endoscope are close to the operator.

Telesurgery is one of the possible applications of surgical robot for the purpose of medicine in rural area, space, and battle field. In principle of surgical robot, master controller (operator site) and surgical robot (patient site) are connected only by

*Intelligent Information-Guided Robotic Surgery DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82191*

#### **Figure 10.**

*Recent Advances in Laparoscopic Surgery*

Surgical Inc., to commercialize this system.

At the moment, they focus on lung treatment.

*Flex robotic system, reprinted by permission from Springer Nature: Springer Nature [41].*

**3.3 Medrobotics**

**3.4 K-Flex**

**3.5 Monarch platform**

endoscope. This company is a spin-off of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. HOYA Corporation, Japan, one of the endoscope manufacturers joined the project. It is still under development. ESD, endoscopic full thickness dissection, NOTES trials in animal model, and a human trial have been carried out [36–40].

cavity. Flex robotic system has already cleared FDA for colorectal surgery.

Flex robotic system (Medrobotics Corporation, US) has also two 4-mm articulating arm and endoscope (**Figure 9**). Unique feature is the snake-like endoscope [41–44]. By using two sets of shape-locking sheath, the endoscope can move follow-the-leader manner like snake. As the length of the endoscope is short, it can be applied for larynx, rectum from natural orifice, and percutaneously abdominal

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea has been developing K-Flex [45]. Two 3.7-mm articulating instruments and an endoscope are in a flexible sheath. The sheath has wire driven bending section at the end. This bending section has two independently controllable bending parts, so that view angle can be changed. They established a spin-off company, EasyEndo

Auris Health, Inc. (US) is a potential company which can develop flexible endoscopic robot [46]. They have already cleared FDA and launched the Monarch platform in 2018, which is a bronchoscopy treatment robot. They previously acquired Hansen Medical, which had technology for bending catheter for cardiovascular use.

**100**

**Figure 9.**

*ESD platform (manually driven) of Kyushu University, Japan.*

**Figure 11.** *ESD platform (motorized) of Kyushu University, Japan.*
