Development of a Sugical Support Robot Capable of Palpation

(Examination of atherosclerosis models)

Abstract

In order to add a palpation function to a surgical robot, we developed a micro forceps mechanism driven by hydraulic pressure. Therefore, viscoelasticity modeling of the measurement target was investigated using the micro-forceps mechanism, and viscoelasticity measurements of an arteriosclerosis model were performed. Arteriosclerosis can be roughly divided into arterial narrowing, lipid content, and arterial stiffening. Plaque composed of fat causes narrowing of blood vessels, and the amount of lipid in the plaque determines whether the plaque fails or not. Therefore, we created a model that varies the degree of stenosis and the amount of lipid with reference to the characteristics of atherosclerosis, and measured the viscoelasticity of changes in arterial stiffness. As a result, the superiority of the three-element Maxwell model and the difference in viscoelasticity in each experiment of the arteriosclerosis model were measured.