Handheld laparoscopic robots may enhance surgical quality while reducing medical resource use. These types of devices primarily combine the portability of traditional instruments with the flexibility of advanced surgical robotics. However, challenges related to the usability and intuitiveness of wrist-controlled operation modes in handheld robots have raised concerns.

This study introduces a novel modular handheld electric surgical robot equipped with a joystick, a multi-layer cross-shaped Hooke hinge end effector, and a quick-change mechanism. The joystick exhibits a master-slave isomorphism with the continuum end effector. We conducted kinematic modeling of the end effector using continuous curvature models and proposed a joint incremental proportional control method. To evaluate the device’s performance, we constructed an optical 3D motion capture system to monitor the master-slave trajectory of the electric robotic prototype.

The end effector achieved a combined yaw and pitch range of ± 90°, robot can execute multi-axis circular movements with excellent consistency. The consumable single quick-change time was less than 7 s. The maximum trajectory error was 3.43 mm, with a master-slave control delay of 0.304 s. Suturing operation with a laparoscopic simulator showed the robot can grasp and suture tissues more easily.

This electric surgical device showed advantages in master-slave trajectory consistency, usability, and finger-controlled operation mode. The proposed control approach can also be applied to other rope-driven continuum robotics.