This article presents a technique to reconstruct the shape of a flexible instrument in three dimensional Euclidean space based on data from Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) that are inscribed in multi-core fibers. Its main contributions are the application of several multi-core fibers with FBGs as shape sensor for medical instruments and a thorough presentation of the reconstruction technique. The data from the FBG sensors is first converted to strain measurements, which is then used to calculate the curvature and torsion of the fibers. The shape of the instrument is reconstructed using Frenet-Serret equations in conjunction with the calculated curvature and torsion of the instrument. The reconstruction technique is validated with a catheter sensorized with 4 multi-core fibers that have FBG sensors. The catheter is placed in 8 different configurations and the reconstruction is compared to the ground truth. The maximum reconstruction error among all the configurations is found to be 1.05 mm. The results show that shape sensing for flexible medical instruments is feasible with FBG sensors in multicore fibers.

Kolff program: Restoring organ function by means of regenerative medicine (REGENERATE), Bioadhesion, biocompatibility and infection (BIOBI)

Accurate navigation of flexible medical instruments like catheters require the knowledge of its pose, that is its position and orientation. In this paper multi-core fibers inscribed with fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) are utilized as sensors to measure the pose of a multi-segment catheter. A reconstruction technique that provides the pose of such a fiber is presented. First, the measurement from the Bragg gratings are converted to strain then the curvature is deduced based on those strain calculations. Next, the curvature and the Bishop frame equations are used to reconstruct the fiber. This technique is validated through experiments where the mean error in position and orientation is observed to be less than 4.69 mm and 6.48 degrees, respectively. The main contributions of the paper are the use of Bishop frames in the reconstruction and the experimental validation of the acquired pose.

Abstract-The presence of force feedback in medical instruments has been proven to reduce tissue damage. In order to provide force feedback, information about the interaction forces between the instrument and the environment must be known. Direct measurement of these forces by commercial sensors is not feasible due to space limitations. Thus, in this study we propose to estimate the interaction forces using strain measurements from Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors. These measurements can also be used for shape sensing and as a result both force and shape can be sensed simultaneously. For force sensing two models are proposed and compared. The first is based on a Rigid Link approximation, while the second uses the Cosserat rod theory. The models are validated experimentally using a tendon-driven continuum manipulator that is subjected to forces at the tip. The force estimates from the models are compared to the measurements from a commercial force sensor. Mean absolute errors of 11.2 mN (6.9%) and 15.9 mN (8.3%) are observed for the Rigid Link model and Cosserat model, respectively.