Prototype Realization of a Human Hand-Inspired Needle Driver for Robotic-Assisted Surgery

Surgical robots have been widely employed to help doctors to perform operations through small incisions with precise control and enhanced vision. However, compared to the human hand, the manipulation capabilities of the instruments used in robotic-assisted surgeries are still limited. In earlier research, we designed a new needle driver tool inspired by the human hand rolling capabilities. The new tool allowed for needle reorientation with only one hand, unlike the standard tool that requires the use of both hands to reorient the needle during surgical intervention. The present paper extends our previous work by enhancing the design of the new tool, manufacturing 1–1 scale working prototype, mounting and controlling the tool actuators, and integrating a modified master device to remotely control the new tool. The functionality and grasping capabilities of the developed prototype was tested using the research kit of da Vinci surgical system (dVRK). Moreover, the performance of the new tool was evaluated by a group of surgeons based on the standard NASA Task Load Index (TLX). The results validate the proposed design and its manufacturability and suggest that the tool can effectively enhance the needle manipulation and improve the surgeon’s dexterity.