Development of a kinesthetic sense displaying robot manipulator for brain surgery

Abstract

We are developing the master-slave manipulator with multiple degrees of freedom, aiming to realize minimally invasive surgery. This system has three characteristics. First, the slave manipulator has 5 degrees of freedom. In order to approach to the deeply seated tumor through a narrow hole, the slave manipulator can flex at the end part to face the gripper to the target and can rotate the closing direction of the gripper at the end of the slave manipulator. Second, the slave manipulator has biaxial force sensor using strain gages fit on the gripper clip of the slave manipulator. Biaxial force means frictional and gripping forces when the slave manipulator grips the target. Third, the system can provide kinesthetic sense information for surgeons. This system uses stepping motor for the miniaturization and the simplification of the system. So, we constructed the kinesthetic sense displaying control system using stepping motor. Experimented test showed that the manipulator can approach flexibly to the target, and the taking out force of a target on the soft material was detected clearly. It also showed that the gripper sensor and our control system provide the operator with the kinesthetic sense.