A Novel Flexible Forceps With FBG-Based Force-Sensing and Feedback for Endoscopic Surgery

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is an effective treatment for early gastrointestinal (GI) tract cancers. However, existing endoscopic instruments lack force-sensing and feedback control capability, potentially leading to serious complications. In this work, we developed novel four degrees of freedom (DOF) flexible forceps capable of sensing both clamping and dragging forces. The compact and conformal design integrates two fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based clamping force-sensing units (CFSUs) and one FBG-based dragging force-sensing unit (DFSU). These units achieve high resolutions of 0.76 mN (clamping) and 5.88 mN (dragging), excellent dynamic force tracking precision and temperature compensation capability. By combining the flexible forceps with a haptic device, we implemented a proportional leader-follower force feedback control method, whose feasibility was successfully verified through ex vivo experiments.