Force–Torque Sensors for Minimally Invasive Surgery Robotic Tools: An Overview

Robot-assisted surgery is a multidisciplinary research field, which includes many subjects (e.g., medicine and surgery, engineering, mechanics, electronics, computer science, physics, chemical, material science, robotics and many others). Sensors for physical interaction, during robot-assisted surgery, integrate some of these disciplines and are an open challenge. In this survey, we analyse some of the main design solutions of force-torque sensors for surgical instruments with a critical approach, including design and application constraints: robotic surgery environment, surgeon perception, general design architectures of force-torque sensors and force-torque sensors used in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery. The crucial aspects are analysed in detail, defining technological limitations and future perspectives of sensing instruments in surgical applications.