A group of researchers has created a simple, yet a successful method for on-demand tactile sensing in keyhole surgery, addressing a major restriction – surgeons’ inability to ‘feel’ tissues during an operation.
They successfully evaluated the effectiveness of their novel instrument, which incorporates off-the-shelf sensors into a laparoscopic grasper.
The Advanced Microfluidics and Microdevices Laboratory (AMMLab) at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) collaborated with surgeons from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD).
Mohammad Qasaimeh, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering at NYUAD, headed the team.
“While the present prototype is a proof of concept, our future work will focus on creating an even more accurate capacity to mechanically identify minor changes in tissue stiffness and texture,” Qasaimeh added.
“We also hope to do studies with samples that mimic better human organs in partnership with our colleagues from the CCAD,” Qasaimeh stated.
The findings were reported in the IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine.
Surgery Through A Keyhole
There are several advantages to minimally invasive surgery (MIS), sometimes known as keyhole surgery.
MIS offers visibility and surgical access to target organs through small incisions by using specialized surgical tools with thin, long tube-like shafts connected with endoscopes and surgical graspers, needles, and shears.
It needs less time to recuperate than open surgery and frequently results in less discomfort and scars.
Nonetheless, it provides surgeons with a limited field of view and no capacity to sense relative changes and tissue stiffness during surgery.
As a result, MIS surgeries are linked to the ‘lost sense of touch’ difficulty for surgeons.
Intelligent Forceps
The researchers reveal how they developed their Smart Laparoscopic Forceps by incorporating a set of commercially accessible sensors into standard laparoscopic equipment (SLF).
Using a force sensor on the gripping jaw and an angle sensor at the handle, the device detects the grabbing force and angle of the seized tissue in real-time.
A microcontroller analyses the data, and the gripping feedback is presented on a monitor.
Based on the deformation characteristics acquired by the two sensors, this smart instrument provides the surgeon with a relative stiffness index of the tissue, in addition to the magnitude of the applied force, to aid in decision-making during the surgery.
And using this method, traditional surgical instruments may be turned smart by adding tactile feedback elements on-demand and in a plug-and-play configuration.
