Multi-axis robotic forceps with decoupled pneumatic actuation and force sensing for cochlear implantation

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Surgical Technology

Background:

• Microsurgeries demand extensive hands-on experience for safe execution.
• Developing high-resolution, multi-axis force-sensing devices for micro-operations is a significant challenge in surgical automation.
• Existing automated surgical devices often lack the necessary precision for delicate micro-manipulations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a 6-axis force-sensing pneumatic forceps integrated with a serial-parallel robotic platform.
• To enable precise force feedback and stable manipulation for cochlear implantation surgery.
• To address the challenges in high-resolution, multi-axis force sensing for micro-surgical applications.

Main Methods:

• Designed forceps with a curved body embedding parallel and inclined fiber Bragg grating sensors for 6-axis force sensing.
• Incorporated a pneumatic gripper with decoupled actuation for controlled grasping of the electrode array.
• Developed a robotic platform with a spherical parallel mechanism and robotic arm for 3-DOF rotations and translations.

Main Results:

• The developed forceps successfully achieved 6-axis force sensing.
• The pneumatic gripper demonstrated decoupled actuation for precise grasping and releasing.
• Cadaveric studies on temporal bone and human head validated the robotic forceps' feasibility.

Conclusions:

• The robotic forceps provide a decoupled mechanism for pneumatic actuation and force sensing.
• The system shows significant potential for enhanced force interaction and stable operation in robotic microsurgery.
• This technology advances the field of automated surgical devices for delicate procedures like cochlear implantation.