Design of an SMA embedded clamp for endoscopic surgery

Abstract

Control of clamping pressure on blood vessel is a commonly concerned issue in minimally invasive surgeries. While complicated sensing-feedback-control systems are developed for clamping in robotic surgeries, a simple mechanism for the pressure control is desired. In this paper, we propose a new structure of endoscopic forceps to solve the problem of nonlinear relation between the clamping pressure and grasping force. A shape memory alloy (SMA) wire embedded endoscopic clamp is proposed to control the clamping pressure within a safe range. A typical configuration of the clamp is designed based on the discussion on the detailed geometric dimension of SMA wires and blood vessels.