Force Sensing and Force Feedback in Minimally Invasive Surgery

Robotic surgery has begun to substitute both open surgery and laparoscopy. While there are many advantages to robotic devices such as the da Vinci Surgical System, there is a disconnection between hand and patient, resulting in a loss of haptics. There is an opportunity to re-establish the connection with the use of an external stimulus that can provide feedback, either through the visual, tactile, or auditory senses. The forces applied throughout the procedure can be measured and mapped to a change in colour, vibration, or sound, allowing the surgeon to have more awareness. Seven participants were given the task of completing a suturing task on a simulated phantom while either receiving no feedback, audio, visual, or combined feedback that represents the magnitude of their applied force. Trials involving feedback demonstrated reduced forces, suggesting more awareness and lower chances of post surgical complication for application to an actual operation.M.A.S