A new robot for force control in minimally invasive surgery

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) challenges the surgeon's skills due to his separation from the operation area, which can be reached with long instruments only. Therefore, the surgeon loses access to the manipulation forces inside the patient. This reduces his dexterity when performing the operation. A new compact and lightweight robot for MIS is presented which allows for the measurement of manipulation forces. The main advantage of this concept is that no miniaturized force sensor has to be integrated into surgical instruments and inserted into the patient. Rather, outside the patient a standard sensor is attached to a modified trocar, which allows for the undisturbed measurement of manipulation forces. This approach reduces costs and sterilizability demands. Results of first force control experiments are presented to show the feasibility of the concepts.