A Robust Uniaxial Force Sensor for Minimally Invasive Surgery

• Published in: IEEE transactions on biomedical engineering Vol. 57; no. 5; pp. 1008 - 1011
• Main Authors: Yip, Michael C., Yuen, Shelten G., Howe, Robert D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01-05-2010; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Anisotropy; Beating heart surgery; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiac Valve Annuloplasty - instrumentation; Circuit testing; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure; force feedback; Force measurement; Force sensors; Heart valves; Instruments; Length measurement; Medical sciences; Minimally invasive surgery; minimally invasive surgery (MIS); Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures - instrumentation; mitral valve annuloplasty; optical force sensor; Reproducibility of Results; Robustness; Seals; Sensitivity and Specificity; Stress, Mechanical; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgery of the heart; Technology. Biomaterials. Equipments; Transducers, Pressure; Ultrasonic variables measurement; Heart; optical force sensor; force feedback; Prototype; Cardiac surgery; Annuloplasty; Design; mitral valve annuloplasty; minimally invasive surgery (MIS); Ungulata; Biomedical engineering; Mitral valve; Technical assistance; Optical sensor; Calibration; Beating heart surgery; Pig; Vertebrata; Minimally invasive surgery; Mammalia; Animal; Medical device; Force transducer; Circulatory system; Artiodactyla
• ISSN: 0018-9294; 1558-2531
• DOI: 10.1109/TBME.2009.2039570

This paper presents a novel miniature uniaxial force sensor for use within a beating heart during mitral valve annuloplasty. The sensor measures 5.5 mm in diameter and 12 mm in length and provides a hollow core to pass instrumentation. A soft elastomer flexure design maintains a waterproof seal. Fiber optic transduction eliminates electrical circuitry within the heart, and acetal components minimize ultrasound-imaging artifacts. Calibration uses a nonlinear viscoelastic method, and in vitro tests demonstrate a 0-4-N force range with rms errors of 0.13 N (< 3.2%). In vivo tests provide the first endocardial measurements of tissue-minimally invasive surgery instrument interaction forces in a beating heart.