title: A technique for measuring contact force distribution in minimally invasive surgical procedures.
abstract: This paper investigates new methods for measuring forces and tactile sense as a contribution towards relaying the sense of touch to the surgeon. The approach used is to determine a distribution of contact force using a small number of sensory outputs to detect the bending of a surface of known behaviour. Software algorithms have been produced to interpret the contacting force from sensory data, and have achieved a bandwidth of 30 Hz and an accuracy of 2 per cent. The sensor construction is of sufficiently low cost to produce a disposable unit and uses materials that are compatible with the invasive working environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol.
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Brett
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Stone
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D012984:Software; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014110:Touch; D014159:Transducers; D014584:User-Computer Interface