Air-cushion force-sensitive probe for soft tissue investigation during minimally invasive surgery.
OBJECTIVE
We propose a novel air-cushion force-sensitive indentation probe for rapidly locating abnormalities within soft tissues during minimally invasive surgery (MIS).


METHODS
This system comprises a spherical-tipped optical-based force-sensing device that employs an air-cushion technique to conduct continuous rolling indentation over the surface of soft tissues. The device combines rapid acquisition of tissue resistance forces with high manoeuvrability. To determine the stiffness variation, the interaction forces acquired during rolling indentation can be integrated to generate spatio-mechanical stiffness images that can be used for tissue diagnosis.


RESULTS
Rolling indentation tests on the probe were carried out on excised porcine liver. The results demonstrate that the probe can be used to acquire force signals for constructing mechanical images, reliably indicating areas of variable stiffness.


CONCLUSIONS
This probe could be used to characterize the force tissue deflection profile of soft tissues during minimally invasive surgery providing surgeons with enhanced haptic feedback.
Zbyszewski
Dinusha
D
Department of Mechanical Engineering, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Challacombe
Benjamin
B
Liu
Hongbin
H
Seneviratne
Lakmal
L
Dasgupta
Prokar
P
Murphy
Declan
D
Althoefer
Kaspar
K
D000388:Air; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008099:Liver / Q000601:surgery*; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D034421:Sus scrofa; D014572:Urology