Powered, faster cutting
A manual punch is slow. A powered bone-cutting mechanism is the next end-effector.
Technology
Bend but can't cut. Cut but can't be held.
Flexible instruments go slack against bone. Powered benders are built for hips and shoulders. An infant's skull is 2 mm of bone over dura. It needs a different instrument.
Investigational device. Bench-stage prototype, not cleared for clinical use. Advancing toward FDA Class II 510(k).
The end-effector
The jaw that cuts is the jaw that shields.
A cable-driven bone punch. The lower jaw is the dural protector, staying between the punch and the dura through every bite. A scalp retractor above makes the pocket the endoscope sees into.
Punch, dural protector, and endoscope channel all fit in one 13 mm shaft. Protection isn't a setting the surgeon turns on. It comes from the shape of the jaw.
Articulation
It bends to the skull's curve.
A cable-driven bending section conforms to the ~140 mm curvature of the infant cranium. A worm-gear drive holds the angle without power and without back-driving.
One shaft and one vertex incision reach where straight tools work blind or need a second cut.
Bench characterization
| Test | Result | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Tip deflection | 3.6 mm at 10 N (0° bending) | Stiffness of the bending section under external load. |
| Workspace | 23.7 mm reach · 120° sweep | Kinematic analysis of the tool tip about a fixed incision point. |
| Cutting force | < 40 N cable tension | Cutting 2 mm PCF 30 & 40 polyurethane bone analogue. |
| Bending range | Segment 1: 60° · Segment 2: 90° | Two-segment tendon-driven articulation, variable stiffness. |
| Shaft | 13 mm diameter | Bone punch jaws, dural protector, and endoscope channel in one shaft. |
Law J, et al. A Novel Articulating Bone Cutting Tool for Minimally Invasive Craniosynostosis Surgery. ASME Journal of Medical Devices, 2025. Patent WO2024156054A1.
Robot-ready
The same cable that the surgeon pulls, a robot can.
The cable-driven mechanism is the class used in leading surgical robots. It is manual today, and the same architecture mounts as an end-effector on a robotic arm with no redesign. Only the drive needs motorizing.
What's next
What we still have to build.
The functions between a proven concept and a real osteotomy.
Suction and irrigation
Bone bleeds the moment you cut it. Two more channels clear the field for the endoscope.
Bleeding control
The dural protector, scalp retractor and suction tip double as cautery.