A Force-Visualized Silicone Retractor Attachable to Surgical Suction Pipes

Abstract

This paper presents a force-visually-observable silicone retractor, which is an extension of a previously developed system that had the same functions of retracting, suction, and force sensing. These features provide not only high usability by reducing the number of tool changes, but also a safe choice of retracting by visualized force information. Suction is achieved by attaching the retractor to a suction pipe. The retractor has a deformable sensing component including a hole filled with a liquid. The hole is connected to an outer tube, and the liquid level displaced in proportion to the extent of deformation resulting from the retracting load. The liquid level is capable to be observed around the surgeon’s fingertips, which enhances the usability. The new hybrid structure of soft sensing and hard retracting allows the miniaturization of the retractor as well as a resolution of less than 0.05 N and a range of 0.1–0.7 N. The overall structure is made of silicone, which has the advantages of disposability, low cost, and easy sterilization/disinfection. This system was validated by conducting experiments.

Electrification of a Retractor Consisting of Flexible Structure and Development of Six-D.o.F Surgical Assist Arm with Unactuated Joints

“…T M = T η r η g n r n g (14) Substituting n r = 100, η r = 0.60, n g = 1, η g = 0.98 and T = 0.980 Nm derived from ( 11) into ( 14), T M = 0.0167 (15) can be obtained. From torque-current characteristics of the motor shown in Figure 6, the current flow as each joint of the retractor is fixed is about 0.7 [A], the current value was used for motor control.…”

“…Suction was achieved by attaching the retractor to a suction pipe. The retractor has a deformable sensing component including a hole filled with a liquid [14]. A. Razjigaev et al have developed a patient-specific low-cost 3D printable snake-like manipulator, and it was teleoperated.…”

Real-Time Intraoperative Pressure Monitoring to Avoid Surgically Induced Localized Brain Injury Using a Miniaturized Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor

“…However, this approach has limited utility because pressure can only be measured from the point where the strain gauges are attached. Watanabe et al developed a force sensing silicone retractor which has limited utility because of its relatively larger thickness (2–16 mm). − …”