论文标题
低成本微型机器人的设计，以协助COVID-19
Design of a Low-cost Miniature Robot to Assist the COVID-19 Nasopharyngeal Swab Sampling
论文作者
论文摘要
鼻咽（NP）拭子采样是诊断冠状病毒疾病2019（COVID-19）的有效方法。执行收集NP标本的任务的医务人员与可疑患者密切接触，从而构成了跨感染的高风险。我们提出了一个低成本的微型机器人，可以轻松组装并远程控制。该系统包括一个有效的最终效果，一个被动定位臂和具有集成力传感能力的可拆卸拭子抓手。建造此机器人的材料的成本为55美元，功能部分的总重量为0.23千克。使用有限元（FE）建模证明了力传感拭子抓手的设计，并用模拟幻影和三个猪鼻子对机器人的性能进行了验证。 FE分析表明，抓地力的传感光束的0.5mm幅度位移，该光束符合光电传感器的理想检测范围。对幻影和猪鼻子的研究都证明了在收集任务期间机器人的成功操作。发现平均力分别为0.35n和0.85n。可以得出结论，提出的机器人有希望，可以进一步开发用于体内。
Nasopharyngeal (NP) swab sampling is an effective approach for the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Medical staffs carrying out the task of collecting NP specimens are in close contact with the suspected patient, thereby posing a high risk of cross-infection. We propose a low-cost miniature robot that can be easily assembled and remotely controlled. The system includes an active end-effector, a passive positioning arm, and a detachable swab gripper with integrated force sensing capability. The cost of the materials for building this robot is 55 USD and the total weight of the functional part is 0.23kg. The design of the force sensing swab gripper was justified using Finite Element (FE) modeling and the performances of the robot were validated with a simulation phantom and three pig noses. FE analysis indicated a 0.5mm magnitude displacement of the gripper's sensing beam, which meets the ideal detecting range of the optoelectronic sensor. Studies on both the phantom and the pig nose demonstrated the successful operation of the robot during the collection task. The average forces were found to be 0.35N and 0.85N, respectively. It is concluded that the proposed robot is promising and could be further developed to be used in vivo.
