Integrated Sensors for Soft Medical Robotics

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Minimally invasive procedures using soft robots offer significant patient and surgeon benefits.
• Commercialization is hindered by a lack of perception capabilities in soft robotic systems.
• Perception is crucial for safe, accurate, and efficient robot-assisted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review integrated sensor technologies for soft medical robots.
• To highlight advancements in sensor mechanisms and applications.
• To discuss manufacturing processes and future fabrication routes for sensing devices.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent literature on sensor integration in soft medical robots.
• Analysis of various sensing mechanisms (e.g., haptic feedback, impedance sensing).
• Examination of practical, clinical, and manufacturing aspects of sensor technologies.

Main Results:

• Multimodal sensors are advancing due to progress in engineering, material science, and micromachining.
• Integrated sensors compensate for perceptual deficiencies in soft robots.
• Examples include force sensors for haptic feedback and impedance sensing for tumor detection.

Conclusions:

• Sensor integration is key to overcoming perceptual limitations in soft medical robots.
• Continued advancements in engineering and materials will drive the development of novel sensing devices.
• This review provides a comprehensive overview of current and emerging sensor technologies for medical soft robotics.