Design and development of a positioning robot for use as a surgical debridement method

Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 57-59).Debridement, the act of removing dead tissue and debris from wounds, is critical to ensure the wound healing process is resumed in chronic wounds and wounds that are stuck in the healing process. This thesis investigates the positional accuracy of a positioning robot for future development as a hydro-surgical debridement robot that runs autonomously. After completion and assembly of the mechanical structure of the robot, two different infrared sensors, the VCNL4000 Infrared Proximity sensor and the Sharp GP2YOA41SKOF Short Range Proximity Sensor were used and tested for their distance measuring capabilities. Both sensors were found unsuitable to accurately measure and detect a distance of 1mm from the surface measured and are not recommended for future iterations of the robot. Different sensor recommendations are made to continue the development and exploration of this robot for use as a debridement method.by Diana M. Rosales.S.B