Swept source optical coherence tomography based smart handheld vitreoretinal microsurgical tool for tremor...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Surgical Technology
• Optical Coherence Tomography

Background:

• Microsurgery demands high precision and stability for successful outcomes.
• Freehand microsurgical procedures are susceptible to surgeon hand tremor, increasing risks.
• Current methods for tremor suppression are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel smart surgical tool for tremor suppression.
• To enhance tool tip stabilization and targeting accuracy in microsurgery.
• To assess the potential for reducing surgical risks.

Main Methods:

• A common path swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system was integrated into a surgical instrument.
• The system assesses one-dimensional motion tremor of the surgeon's hand.
• The tool provides active tremor suppression for enhanced stability.

Main Results:

• The smart surgical tool significantly improved tool tip stabilization compared to freehand use.
• Accurate surgical target localization was enhanced.
• The ability to maintain precise tool tip offset distances was significantly improved in a chicken embryo model.

Conclusions:

• The novel SS-OCT based smart surgical tool effectively suppresses hand tremor.
• This technology offers enhanced tool tip stabilization and more accurate targeting.
• The tool has the potential to lower surgical risks in microsurgical procedures.