Masaya Kitagawa
Papers
6
Total Citations
754
H-Index
6
About
Masaya Kitagawa is a pioneering researcher in the field of robotic surgery, with a primary focus on haptic feedback and force-sensitive teleoperation. His seminal work, including the highly cited "Effect of sensory substitution on suture-manipulation forces for robotic surgical systems" (278 citations) and "Application of Haptic Feedback to Robotic Surgery" (248 citations), established foundational knowledge on how force feedback can improve surgical precision. Kitagawa demonstrated that the absence of tactile feedback in commercial robotic systems leads to excessive suture forces, risking tissue damage—a critical insight that has shaped the design of next-generation surgical robots. His experimental studies, such as "Analysis of Suture Manipulation Forces for Teleoperation with Force Feedback" (122 citations), quantified the benefits of partial force feedback, even when sensor and actuator degrees of freedom are mismatched. Earlier in his career, Kitagawa contributed to robotic grasping theory with "Kinematic analysis and planning for form closure grasps by robotic hands" (24 citations). Collectively, his work has accumulated over 750 citations, influencing both academic research and clinical device development. Kitagawa’s research remains essential reading for engineers and surgeons seeking to make robot-assisted surgery safer and more intuitive.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Application of Haptic Feedback to Robotic Surgery248 citations · 2004
- 3Analysis of Suture Manipulation Forces for Teleoperation with Force Feedback122 citations · 2002
- 4
- 5
- 6Kinematic analysis and planning for form closure grasps by robotic hands24 citations · 1989