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Haptics for Robot-Assisted Surgery
Figure 1: A custom version of the da Vinci surgical system in the Haptic Exploration laboratory. The master joystick controls (foreground) controls the 7-degree-of freedom slave robot (background) and the operator receives force feedback to the hand.
Figure 2: Visual overlay of force information on the surgeon's monitor. The dots track the tool in the image and change color depending on the amount of force applied.
Figure 3: The Haptic Scissors. Tissue models and a scissor-like haptic interface allow the user to feel cutting forces while performing surgery in a virtual environment. (Photo by Will Kirk)
Description
Robot-assisted surgical systems have become common devices in hospitals around the world. These surgical systems allow surgeons to perform complicated procedures through small incisions, with increased accuracy, and better clinical outcome (Figure 1). Professor Allison Okamura’s Haptic Exploration laboratory is working to push the benefits of the surgical robots further.
Current robot-assisted surgical systems are not able to provide crucial haptic (force and tactile) feedback to clinicians in the operating room. Force sensing technology and device design complicate providing haptic feedback in the systems used today. Prof. Okamura's group is working to change that through a combination of approaches in collaboration with Intuitive Surgical, Inc., makers of the da Vinci surgical system. One method to provide force information during surgery is to display force information via a visual overlay on the surgeon's view of the operating field (Figure 2). Others involve control laws that provide stable force feedback without force sensors, and limiting the feedback to the surgeon to the most important directions.
Prof. Okamura's group is also working to develop methods to improve surgical outcomes by improving the way surgeons train. Combining robotic systems and virtual simulations of surgical procedures allows surgeons to practice procedures and predict complications that can arise during surgical procedures. Haptic feedback is essential for making these simulations realistic. One training system created in Okamura's lab is the Haptic Scissors, a robotic device that creates the sensation of cutting in virtual environments (Figure 3).
Publications
A. M. Okamura, "Methods for Haptic Feedback in Teleoperated Robot-Assisted Surgery," Industrial Robot, Vol. 31, No. 6., pp. 499-508, 2004.
B. T. Bethea, A. M. Okamura, M. Kitagawa, T. P. Fitton, S. M. Cattaneo, V. L. Gott, W. A. Baumgartner, and D. D. Yuh, "Application of Haptic Feedback to Robotic Surgery," Journal of Laparoendoscopic and Advanced Surgical Techniques, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 191-195, 2004.
L. N. Verner and A. M. Okamura, "Sensor/Actuator Asymmetries in Telemanipulators: Implications of Partial Force Feedback," 14th Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environments and Teleoperator Systems, 2006, pp. 309-314.
M. Mahvash and A. M. Okamura, " Friction compensation for a force-feedback telerobotic system", IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2006, pp. 3268 - 3273.
S. Greenish, V. Hayward, T. Steffen, V. Chial, and A. M. Okamura, "Measurement, Analysis and Display of Haptic Signals During Surgical Cutting," Presence, Vol. 11, No. 6, pp. 626-651, 2002.