A novel 4-DOF surgical instrument with modular joints and 6-Axis Force sensing capability.
BACKGROUND
It is difficult for surgeons to exert appropriate forces during delicate operations due to lack of force feedback in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS). A 4-DOF surgical grasper with a modular wrist and 6-axis force sensing capability is developed.


METHODS
A grasper integrated with a miniature force and torque sensor based on the Stewart platform is designed, and a cable tension decomposition mechanism is designed to alleviate influence of the cable tension to the sensor. A modularized wrist consisting of four joint units is designed to facilitate integration of the sensor and eliminate coupled motion of the wrist.


RESULTS
Sensing ranges of this instrument are ±10 N and ±160 N mm, and resolutions are 1.2% in radial directions, 5% in axial direction, and 4.2% in rotational directions. An ex vivo experiment shows that this instrument prototype successfully measures the interaction forces.


CONCLUSIONS
A 4-DOF surgical instrument with modular joints and 6-axis force sensing capability is developed. This instrument can be used for force feedback in RMIS. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, China.
Kun
K
Li
State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, China.
Bo
B
Pan
State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, China.
Fuhai
F
Zhang
School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, China.
Wenpeng
W
Gao
State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, China.
Yili
Y
Fu
State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, China.
Shuguo
S
Wang
D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002138:Calibration; D004867:Equipment Design; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000601:surgery; D009038:Motion; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D013552:Swine; D019415:Torque; D014953:Wrist
D001672:Biocompatible Materials
RMIS; force feedback; miniature f/t sensor; modularized wrist; surgical instrument