Capability Characterization via Ex-vivo Experiments of a Fiber Optical Tip Force Sensing Needle for Tissue Identification

Abstract

This paper deals with the capability characterization of a recently developed novel fiber optical tip force sensing needle. The needle can directly measure the axial force required to penetrate a tissue at its tip, which can then be used for in vivo identification of tissues through either a robotic or a manual needle procedure. To characterize the needle's force sensing capability, ex-vivo experiments are conducted using both phantom human tissues and swine belly tissues. Various factors relevant to tissue identification are investigated, including needle advancing rate and displacement, automated and manual modes of needle insertion, needle-tissue frictional force, and types of tissues. Furthermore, data of forces versus types of tissue are obtained for tissue identification, based on phantom and swine tissue insertions. By means of this database, two tissue identification experiments are performed, which are a multiple layered tissue and swine muscle with neoplasm tissue with the insertion being repeated 15 times per tissue. The result shows that 66.7% of the multiple layered tissue and 86.7% of the neoplasm tissue are successfully identified.