Generally laparoscopy is performed by long surgical tools that are inserted through small incisions on the abdomen for reaching the surgical site. This thesis studies some of the problems associated with lapaxoscopic surgery, and its primary objectives and motivations axe classified in two major categories :​ a) dexterity enhancement, and b) remote manipulation.

The first class based on dexterity enhancement leads us to new designs, prototypes, and developments that can improve the surgical performance, in the following themes:​

Adding Dexterity through the Design of Laparoscopic Stand:​ Positioning of tools, and keeping them in a fixed configuration is a routine task in laparoscopy. This is usually done at the cost of having an assistant surgeon in the operating room, which can also cause crowding of the room. An alternative would be the use of a positioning stand. This patented design provides a resting frame for the surgeon as well as a rigid base for the end-joints to be moved and locked in a much more controlled manner.

Adding Dexterity by using Flexible Stem Graspers:​ The present rigid-stem laparoscopic tools provide only 4 degrees of freedom and lack 2 rotational movements at the surgical site. The challenge and difficulty lies in creation of rotary joints on a stem, with only 10 mm diameter, which have to be actuated inside the body. There are three basic designs that are studied. The first one is a single-joint design based on a 4 bar-link actuation mechanism, the second design is a multi-revolute joint design which is actuated by screw mechanisms, and the last one is a multi-spherical joint design actuated by tendon-like wires.

Adding Dexterity through the application of Semi-Automatic Devices:​ One of the most difficult tasks in laparoscopy is the suturing task. The new patented design allows the teak to be performed semi-automatically faster and easier. It comprises a needle with a circular arc shape, that is moved in a circular path. The movement is provided manually by continuous motion of one finger, and the surgeon has control over the needle in the circular path both in terms of its position and direction of movement. The external diameter of prototyped model is 33 mm, which is further miniaturized to 12 mm diameter for laparoscopic applications.

The second class of designs is related to developments which increase the ability of the surgeon in the remote manipulation of the surgical tissue such as:​

Grasper with force reflection:​ In laparoscopic graspers, the grasping force is sensed poorly at the hand of the surgeon. This is mostly due to friction, backlash and stiffness of all the intermediate mechanical linkages. The design and development of a grasper with force reflection is presented by using a tunable spring design. Experimental results have shown the practicality of such a design concept.

Robotic Extenders for Laparoscopy:​ The direct hand control of laparoscopic tools through incision points is unnatural, remote, and physically demanding for the surgeon. Improvements in surgical dexterity, comparable to the level of open surgery, are studied through the application of various robotic extenders. The proposed robotic extenders can be used either as automated positioners(e.g. for changing the angle of laparoscopic tools to a desired orientation), or as the slave arm in tele-operation systems.