Over the past century, abdominal surgery has seen a rapid transition from open procedures to less invasive methods such as laparoscopy and robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (R-A MIS). These procedures have significantly decreased blood loss, postoperative morbidity and length of hospital stay in comparison with open surgery. R-A MIS has offered refined accuracy and more ergonomic instruments for surgeons, further minimising trauma to the patient.
While training surgeons in MIS procedures is becoming increasingly long and arduous, most available systems adopt a design similar to conventional laparoscopic instruments or focus on different techniques with debatable benefits.

This project aimed to investigate, design and prototype a novel system for R-A MIS that will provide more natural and intuitive manipulation of soft tissues and, at the same time, increase the surgeon's dexterity. The μAngelo system is an anthropomorphic master-slave system with human-centred design that comprises a three-digit miniature hand that can be controlled using the master, a three-digit sensory exoskeleton. While multi-fingered robotic hands have been developed for decades, none have been used for surgical operations.

The μAngelo system not only aims to reduce the training time for surgeons but also to improve the ergonomics of the procedure.