Smart surgical devices
Assistive surgical robotic systems are designed to exploit the precision, repeatability and dexterity of a robot whilst ensuring the surgeon retains executive control during a procedure. However, the significant cost, complexity and physical size of current surgical robotic systems has prohibited widespread dissemination in to clinical practice.
During my Ph.D. I investigated an alternative approach in which robotic features are integrated in to hand-held surgical tools to make smart devices that can improve surgical precision and safety.
Compared to conventional robots, hand-held smart surgical devices are lower cost, they can be seamlessly integrated in to the surgical workflow and they will ultimately enable the wider utilization of robotics in surgery.
Sensing minute forces in surgery -
In delicate microsurgical procedures, adverse tool tissue interactions can be critical to patient outcomes Many procedures warrant fine manipulation where tool tissue forces can be in the milli Newton force range These minute surgical manipulation forces are often beyond the haptic perceptual limits of the human surgeon I developed a series of ungrounded, hand held microsurgical tools that can sense milli Newton scale surgical manipulation forces and magnify these to “human scale” forces, with scaling factors of up to x 80 Highly sensitive force sensing assemblies were used to measure tool tissue forces Integrated actuators within the devices could then exert a scaled force on to the surgeon to give the effect of force magnification These devices were demonstrated to improve intrinsic human haptic perception and may ultimately allow surgeons to perform interventions more delicately, with reduced risk of iatrogenic injury
