A HYDRAULIC FORCEPS WITH FORCE-FEEDBACK FOR USE IN MINIMALLY INVASIVESURGERY

Telemanipulation for use in surgery is an increasing field of robotics which combines new technical and medical developments. Some drawbacks of minimally invasive surgery can be reduced by using telemanipulatio n systems. This article describes the development of a hydraulic gripp er with force-feedback which is designed for use in laparoscopic surge ry. With respect to the manipulation of bowels during a colon resectio n a gripper is designed which exerts a force with a significantly bett er distribution on the tissue compared to conventional grippers. This is done by a flexible tube which curls itself around the tissue (like the finger of a surgeon by open surgery) and prevents damaging due to the absence of sharp (metal) edges. The force exerted on the tissue is measured by the pressure of the water in the tube and used to control the driving system of the forceps. Using a computer system, the force exerted on the tissue can be limited to a certain amount by a control algorithm. The driving system consists of an electromotor with spindl e and a piston and is driven directly by the computer. Finally, a tele manipulation system is presented, which consists of the hydraulic forc eps, a transputer network and a master manipulator with force actuatio n. With this instrument the surgeon can drive the forceps to a desired force, which is directly presented to his finger. Future developments include the positioning of the gripper inside its working area. Copyr ight (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.