Implementation of surgical robot instrument with a force feedback

Abstract

Robotics is now a recognized resource in the field of medicine, in various areas from healthcare to surgery. The advent of new technologies and promising achievements had envisioned the scope of improvement in minimal invasive surgery (MIS). Surgeons equip themselves and migrate to the newer technologies to unleash their benefits to their patients for quicker recovery. Active research in MIS has been carried out to improve the precision and sensing capabilities. In this study, we discuss on a surgical instrument for the surgical robotics MIS with some new features like force feedback and a shape memory alloy (SMA) equipped on an ultra-thin 5 mm rigid link body to better maneuverability, precision, and rigidity. The SMA in the instrument helps the gripping movements. There is always a need for ultra thin tools to reduce the tissue trauma. The developed force sensor picks up the tissue contact forces even as low as 0.29 N from the tip of the gripper which could enhance the surgical experience.