In thoracoscopic surgery for lung cancer, surgeons manipulate the lobe of lung to proper positions to approach to surgical sites. However, the tissue might be damaged while it is picked up with a conventional thin shaped forceps. To overcome the problem, a transformable lung positioner that can be inserted from a 12 mm port was previously developed. The device has three links, each of which has suction cups for adhesion. It is transformed from a linear shape into a triangle, which allows wider area. Requirements for the positioner are as follows. It can lift up more than 500 g, which is heavier than the average weight of a human lung 445 g. Such a device must be disposable for clinical use because the tissue or blood might be sucked up into the device. Therefore the structure should be simple. The suction force of the previous positioner was insufficient and its structure was too complicated. Therefore this study redesigns the structure of the flow path and develops components for the positioner applying silicone rubber and plastics for the materials of the device. Their intrinsic flexibility and bio-compatibility are advantageous. The components were fabricated and assembled into the new positioner. To increase the suction force, we also developed bellows shaped suction cups that can fit to a soft tissue. The new positioner can lift up porcine liver weighed 510 g.
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