Design and control of a novel robotic microsurgical forceps for Transoral Laser Microsurgery

This paper presents a master-slave configuration robotic microsurgical forceps, which is capable of performing micro tissue manipulation. The master, i.e., 7 degree of freedom (DOF) device (Sigma.7), tele-operates the slave device which is a combination of a 6-DOF serial robotic arm and a 1-DOF (open/close) microsurgical forceps device. The serial robotic arm is used for positioning and orienting the slave device, which is integrated with a force/torque sensor for tissue grip-force measurement. This integrated system is analyzed for its (i) functional, (ii) usability, and (iii) haptic performance through user trials. The proposed system offers improved tool placement, enhanced tissue perception, safety, and accuracy with respect to the state of the art. This study the feasibility of replacing traditional manual forceps with easy-to-use and ergonomic robot-assisted devices.