Robot-assisted microsurgical forceps with haptic feedback for transoral laser microsurgery

In this paper, a novel, motorized, multi-degrees-of-freedom (DoF), microsurgical forceps tool is presented, which is based on a master-slave teleoperation architecture. The slave device is a 7-DoF manipulator with: (i) 6-DoF positioning and orientation, (ii) 1 open/close gripper DoF; and (iii) an integrated force/torque sensor for tissue grip-force measurement. The master device is a 7-DoF haptic interface which teleoperates the slave device, and provides haptic feedback in its gripper interface. The combination of the device and the surgeon interface replaces the manual, hand-held device providing easy-to-use and ergonomic tissue control, simplifying the surgical tasks. This makes the system suitable to real surgical scenarios in the operating room (OR). The performance of the system was analysed through the evaluation of teleoperation control and characterization of gripping force. The new system offers an overall positioning error of less than 400 μm demonstrating its safety and accuracy. Improved system precision, usability, and ergonomics point to the potential suitability of the device for the OR and its ability to advance haptic-feedback-enhanced transoral laser microsurgeries.