Utilization of a robotic mount to determine the force required to cut palatal tissue

Determination of the material properties of soft tissue is a growing area of interest that aids in the development of new surgical tools and surgical simulators. This study first aims to develop a robot-operated tissue testing system for determination of tissue cutting forces. Second, this system was used to ascertain the cutting properties of the hard and soft palate mucosa and soft palate musculature for the purpose of developing a robotic instrument for cleft palate surgery and a cleft-specific surgical simulator. The palate tissue was cut with a 15 blade mounted to the robot with varying angles (30°, 60°, 90°) and speeds (1.5, 2.5, 3.5 cm/s) of cutting to imitate typical operative tasks. The cutting force range for hard palate mucosa, soft palate mucosa and soft palate muscle were 0.98-3.30, 0.34-1.74 and 0.71-2.71 N, respectively. The break-in force of the cut (i.e. force required for the blade to penetrate the tissue) is significantly impacted by the angle of the blade relative to the tissue rather than the cutting speed. Furthermore, the total surface area of the tissue in contact with the blade during the cut has a significant impact on the total force expended on the tissue.