Olalekan Ogunmolu and Rodney Wiersma*
Recently, frameless and mask less patient motion correction systems based on image-guided robot positioning have been proposed for patient motion compensation in radiation therapy. A majority of these works utilize rigid kinematic mechanisms for motion correction. However, these rigid mechanical components interfere with the therapeutic radiation beam. In addition, they share their complete workspace with the patient’s body (risking safety), and their constant curvature components are hardly suitable for manipulating the soft tissues of the human body. In this report, we highlight some recent advancement that aim to stem these issues in our line of work: these systems utilize soft mechanisms for patient motion compensation in robotic radiation therapy. Essentially, we propose a soft parallel multi degree of freedom robot to counterbalance the currently prevalent rigid immobilization and patient motion correction mechanisms in head and neck external beam cancer therapy. This work is a key abridgment of recent developments in our mechanisms evolution. Within the bounds here set, this framework is intended to provide precise manipulation in lieu of the rigid platforms that are used today. Our goal is to edge open the door a little further towards in parallel soft actuation mechanisms that provide better patient comfort, radiation transparency, and precise immobilization.
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Advances in Robotics & Automation received 1127 citations as per Google Scholar report
