Compensating Uncertainties in Force Sensing for Robotic-Assisted Palpation

Force sensing in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) is crucial for performing dedicated surgical procedures, such as bilateral teleoperation and palpation. Due to the bio-compatibility and sterilization requirements, a specially designed surgical tool/shaft is normally attached to the sensor while contacting the organ targets. Through this design, the measured force from the sensor usually contains uncertainties, such as noise, inertial force etc., and thus cannot reflect the actual interaction force with the tissue environment. Motivated to provide the authentic contact force between a robotic tool and soft tissue, we proposed a data-driven force compensation scheme without intricate modeling to reduce the effects of force measurement uncertainties. In this paper, a neural-network-based approach is utilized to automatically model the inertial force subject to noise during the robotic palpation procedure, then the exact contact force can be obtained through the force compensation method which cancels the noise and inertial force. Following this approach, the genuine interaction force during the palpation task can be achieved furthermore to improve the appraisal of the tumor surrounded by the soft tissue. Experiments are conducted with robotic-assisted palpation tasks on a silicone-based soft tissue phantom and the results verify the effectiveness of the suggested method.

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A Coil-Based Tactile Sensor for Material Discrimination (1) and Contact Force Measurement: An Application of Multifunctional Sensing Technique

IEEJ Transactions on Sensors and Micromachines ◽

10.1541/ieejsmas.125.15 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 125 (1) ◽

pp. 15-20

Author(s):

Zhiyu Chi ◽

Katsunori Shida

Keyword(s):

Contact Force ◽

Force Measurement ◽

Tactile Sensor ◽

Material Discrimination

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Catheter-related complications and mortality of atrial fibrillation ablation following introduction of contact force-sensing technology

BMJ Surgery, Interventions, & Health Technologies ◽

10.1136/bmjsit-2020-000058 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. e000058

Author(s):

Joseph G Akar ◽

James P Hummel ◽

Xiaoxi Yao ◽

Lindsey Sangaralingham ◽

Sanket Dhruva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Acute Care ◽

Contact Force ◽

Emergency Department Visits ◽

Atrial Fibrillation Ablation ◽

Esophageal Injury ◽

Force Sensing ◽

Complication Rates ◽

Af Ablation ◽

Complications And Mortality

ObjectivesContact force-sensing catheters allow real-time catheter-tissue contact force monitoring during atrial fibrillation. These catheters were rapidly adopted into clinical practice following market introduction in 2014, but concerns have been raised regarding collateral damage such as esophageal injury. We sought to examine whether the introduction of force-sensing catheters was associated with a change in short-term and intermediate-term acute care use, complications and mortality following atrial fibrillation ablation.DesignRetrospective cohort analysis. We used inverse probability treatment weight matching to account for the differences in baseline characteristics between groups.SettingWe examined patients included in the OptumLabs Data Warehouse who underwent ablation for atrial fibrillation before (2011–2013) and after (2015–2017) the market introduction of contact force-sensing catheters.Main outcome measuresWe examined 30-day and 90-day rates of all-cause acute care use, including hospitalizations and emergency department visits, as well as death and hospitalization for catheter-related complications, including atrioesophageal fistula, pericarditis, cardiac tamponade/perforation and stroke/transient ischemic attack.ResultsOur sample included 3470 and 5772 patients who underwent atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation before and after market introduction of contact force-sensing catheters, respectively. Complication rates were low and did not differ between the two periods (p>0.10 for each outcome). The 30-day and 90-day mortality was 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively after market introduction and unchanged from prior to 2014. The 90-day rates of all-cause acute care use decreased, from 27.0% in 2011–2013 to 23.9% in 2015–2017 (p<0.001).ConclusionsAF ablation-related catheter complications and mortality are low and there has been no significant change following the introduction of force-sensing catheters.

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A Magnetorheological Fluids-Based Robot-Assisted Catheter/Guidewire Surgery System for Endovascular Catheterization

Micromachines ◽

10.3390/mi12060640 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 640

Author(s):

Linshuai Zhang ◽

Shuoxin Gu ◽

Shuxiang Guo ◽

Takashi Tamiya

Keyword(s):

Collision Detection ◽

Endovascular Procedures ◽

Force Feedback ◽

Force Measurement ◽

Occupational Hazards ◽

Robot Assisted ◽

X Ray ◽

Surgical Safety ◽

Surgical Tool ◽

Haptic Cues

A teleoperated robotic catheter operating system is a solution to avoid occupational hazards caused by repeated exposure radiation of the surgeon to X-ray during the endovascular procedures. However, inadequate force feedback and collision detection while teleoperating surgical tools elevate the risk of endovascular procedures. Moreover, surgeons cannot control the force of the catheter/guidewire within a proper range, and thus the risk of blood vessel damage will increase. In this paper, a magnetorheological fluid (MR)-based robot-assisted catheter/guidewire surgery system has been developed, which uses the surgeon’s natural manipulation skills acquired through experience and uses haptic cues to generate collision detection to ensure surgical safety. We present tests for the performance evaluation regarding the teleoperation, the force measurement, and the collision detection with haptic cues. Results show that the system can track the desired position of the surgical tool and detect the relevant force event at the catheter. In addition, this method can more readily enable surgeons to distinguish whether the proximal force exceeds or meets the safety threshold of blood vessels.

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A PMUT-based Ultrasonic Probe Used for Contact Force Sensing

2021 IEEE 34th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) ◽

10.1109/mems51782.2021.9375405 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tingzhong Xu ◽

Libo Zhao ◽

Zixuan Li ◽

Jiawei Yuan ◽

Yihe Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Contact Force ◽

Force Sensing ◽

Ultrasonic Probe

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True Kinematic Alignment Is Applicable in 44% of Patients Applying Restrictive Indication Criteria—A Retrospective Analysis of 111 TKA Using Robotic Assistance

Journal of Personalized Medicine ◽

10.3390/jpm11070662 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 662

Author(s):

Kim Huber ◽

Bernhard Christen ◽

Sarah Calliess ◽

Tilman Calliess

Keyword(s):

Soft Tissue ◽

Retrospective Analysis ◽

Patient Specific ◽

Kinematic Alignment ◽

Postoperative Phase ◽

Robotic Assistance ◽

Component Position ◽

Joint Stability ◽

Robotic Assisted ◽

Primary Tkas

Introduction: Image-based robotic assistance appears to be a promising tool for individualizing alignment in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The patient-specific model of the knee enables a preoperative 3D planning of component position. Adjustments to the individual soft-tissue situation can be done intraoperatively. Based on this, we have established a standardized workflow to implement the idea of kinematic alignment (KA) for robotic-assisted TKA. In addition, we have defined limits for its use. If these limits are reached, we switch to a restricted KA (rKA). The aim of the study was to evaluate (1) in what percentage of patients a true KA or an rKA is applicable, (2) whether there were differences regarding knee phenotypes, and (3) what the differences of philosophies in terms of component position, joint stability, and early patient outcome were. Methods: The study included a retrospective analysis of 111 robotic-assisted primary TKAs. Based on preoperative long leg standing radiographs, the patients were categorized into a varus, valgus, or neutral subgroup. Initially, all patients were planned for KA TKA. When the defined safe zone had been exceeded, adjustments to an rKA were made. Intraoperatively, the alignment of the components and joint gaps were recorded by robotic software. Results and conclusion: With our indication for TKA and the defined boundaries, “only” 44% of the patients were suitable for a true KA with no adjustments or soft tissue releases. In the varus group, it was about 70%, whereas it was 0% in the valgus group and 25% in the neutral alignment group. Thus, significant differences with regard to knee morphotypes were evident. In the KA group, a more physiological knee balance reconstructing the trapezoidal flexion gap (+2 mm on average laterally) was seen as well as a closer reconstruction of the surface anatomy and joint line in all dimensions compared to rKA. This resulted in a higher improvement in the collected outcome scores in favor of KA in the very early postoperative phase.

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