Abstract: Minimally invasive surgical instruments, as an essential component of surgical robots, play a critical role in the minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Currently most instruments for MIS are designed to realize basic operations such as clipping and stitching. They are often developed by miniaturization of traditional surgical tools, and therefore have the problems of low mechanical efficiency, severe wearing, and poor movement coordination. In order to improve the efficiency and stability of MIS, new surgical tweezers are designed based on origami of thick panel. Analytical and experimental studies show that the new design can offer 1.5 times more clamping force than its conventional counterpart. Furthermore, it has a larger opening angle and better movement coordination, thereby providing better flexibility of operation. Animal trials are also conducted, which confirms that the new device can clamp tissues in a more stable and reliable manner.

Key words: mechanical efficiency, minimally invasive surgery, rigid origami, surgical clamping tools, thick-panel origami