Abstract: In Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) surgeons operate through small incisions in the body of the patient and due to the lack of the degrees of freedom their capability to manipulate the organs is limited. Thus, surgeons are forced to adopt awkward postures and this may lead to musculoskeletal injuries. This paper presents a new articulated mechanism designed for application in MIS providing an additional degree of freedom in the instrument. The new degree of freedom makes possible the rotation of the end-effector from 0° to 90° and enhances the dexterity of the tool. In this way, the capability to reach the organs is improved and the surgeon reduces the forced motion of hand, wrist and arm. The paper also presents the design process including the synthesis procedure with 2-dof linkage, which is an original contribution of this work. A prototype of the tool is shown at the end of the paper.

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