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Hybrid position/force control of an active handheld micromanipulator for membrane peeling
Trent S Wells1, Sungwook Yang2, Robert A MacLachlan2
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
Background:
Peeling procedures in retinal surgery require micron-scale manipulation and control of sub-tactile forces.
Methods:
Hybrid position/force control of an actuated handheld microsurgical instrument is presented as a means for simultaneously improving positioning accuracy and reducing forces to prevent avoidable trauma to tissue. The system response was evaluated, and membrane-peeling trials were performed by four test subjects in both artificial and animal models.
Results:
Maximum force was reduced by 56% in both models compared with position control. No statistically significant effect on procedure duration was observed.
Conclusions:
A hybrid position/force control system has been implemented that successfully attenuates forces and minimizes unwanted excursions during microsurgical procedures such as membrane peeling. Results also suggest that improvements in safety using this technique may be attained without increasing the duration of the procedure.
