A LAPAROSCOPIC GRASPER WITH FORCE PERCEPTION

In laparoscopic surgery, grasping instruments are the only source of f orce feedback to the surgeon. Therefore, the force transmission charac teristics of these instruments are important features. For mechanical graspers to allow force feedback, the force transmission function shou ld ideally be constant throughout its range of motion and be free of h ysteresis. In this paper, the design of a laparoscopic grasping instru ment with outstanding force transmission characteristics is presented, which satisfies these demands to a large extent. The mechanical effic iency of the prototype amounts to 96% whereas the nonconstancy is only 3% approximately. With these forceps, several physiological propertie s, such as stiffness of tissue and the pulse of arteries, can be clear ly perceived.