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2026 , Vol. 31 >Issue 3: 693 - 706

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12204-026-2933-x

Celebrating 30 Years

Progress in Advancing Mechanisms for Medical Continuum Robots

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  • 1. School of Automation and Intelligent Sensing; Institute of Medical Robotics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; 2. Key Laboratory of System Control and Information Processing of Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200240, China; 3. Department of Vascular Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, China

Received date: 2025-01-04

  Revised date: 2026-03-27

  Accepted date: 2026-04-17

  Online published: 2026-06-11

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Abstract

Continuum robots (CRs) have shown significant clinical potential in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) due to their inherent compliance and high dexterity. However, achieving independently decoupled control and long-distance, stable transmission within strictly confined anatomical spaces remains a key challenge for proximal advancing mechanisms. This study presents a systematic review of advancing mechanisms for CRs and their representative applications. Advancing mechanisms are categorized into coupled-motion and decoupled-feed configurations, where the former translates the entire drive module to provide high kinematic rigidity and motion accuracy, and the latter employs friction-wheel or spooling mechanisms with decoupled transmission to enable compact architectures and extended stroke capabilities. Application-driven design strategies are analyzed across diverse surgical scenarios, highlighting how configuration selection and topology optimization can be tailored to address anatomical and environmental constraints. Key challenges, including transmission inaccuracies from nonlinear friction, sterility and modularity constraints, and embodied integration, are discussed. Future directions focus on high-fidelity force feedback, modular quick-release architectures, and integrated embodied sensing-actuation units to advance the next generation of continuum robotic systems.

Cite this article

Yang Junlin, Yin Minyi, Wei Weiqing, Qiu Peng, Lu Xinzhan, Gao Anzhu . Progress in Advancing Mechanisms for Medical Continuum Robots[J]. Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University(Science), 2026 , 31(3) : 693 -706 . DOI: 10.1007/s12204-026-2933-x

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