2021 Volume Annual59 Issue Proc Pages 743-745
Retractor is a medical device to expand the surgical field by compressing the tissue. However, there is a risk of serious accidents due to overloading in neurosurgery. In this study, we developed a retractor that detects signs of tissue fracture and automatically stop the compressing. We developed a retractor that can measure the pressure exerted on a tissue by measuring the pressure of incompressible fluid filled in a rubber bag attached on the retractor. The compression test of gelatin was conducted with a constant compression speed. The pressure behavior initially increases nonlinearly with the deformation of the target, then becomes linear, and then becomes nonlinear with crack initiation. We developed a system that automatically detects the point where the system starts becoming linear. We also developed a smaller retractor to expand the range of application. The effectiveness of the system was confirmed through verification experiments using tofu and sheep brains.
