The design & prototype of McRobot 3.2 : a patient mounted Parallel Manipulator for surgical tool orientation

In this thesis the design and prototyping process of McRobot 3.2 is discussed. The McRobot is a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) compatible robot that assists interventional radiologists in doing biopsies. Version 3.2 is an improvement that only orients the surgical tool using a parallel manipulator and is attached to the patient using velcro straps and adhesives. A parallel manipulator is used as it provides a constant and fixed center of rotation and significantly higher stiffness. For more accuracy, the manipulator its remote center of motion is placed exactly on the skin of the patient where the surgical tool is to be inserted.