title: A robust uniaxial force sensor for minimally invasive surgery.
abstract: This paper presents a novel miniature uniaxial force sensor for use within a beating heart during mitral valve annuloplasty. The sensor measures 5.5 mm in diameter and 12 mm in length and provides a hollow core to pass instrumentation. A soft elastomer flexure design maintains a waterproof seal. Fiber optic transduction eliminates electrical circuitry within the heart, and acetal components minimize ultrasound-imaging artifacts. Calibration uses a nonlinear viscoelastic method, and in vitro tests demonstrate a 0-4-N force range with rms errors of 0.13 N (< 3.2%). In vivo tests provide the first endocardial measurements of tissue-minimally invasive surgery instrument interaction forces in a beating heart.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. myip@ece.ubc.ca
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.forename: Shelten G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Howe
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D058385:Cardiac Valve Annuloplasty / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014160:Transducers, Pressure