Highly Sensitive Silicon Slip Sensing Imager for Forceps Grippers Used under Low Friction Condition

We are reporting the first silicon electron device for the realization of detection in slip of grasping by laparoscopic forceps under very low friction condition. Even under "zero-level" friction, slip of grasping object is detectable with the original algorithm inspired from our finger’s sense of slip. At present, the surgeons of laparoscopic surgery or robotic surgery can able to get through monitor visual information only. It is one of the essential reasons why endoscopic surgeries requires much higher skills than conventional open surgery. Since organ surface is very slippery by blood and body fluid, very low friction around the organs is an essential issue especially in the case of laparoscopic surgery. Fabricated silicon slip sensing imager can visualize the grasping force distribution on the slippery organ surface, and the slippage of the organ is digitized by calculation of the center of load distribution. This is the first demonstration of slip detection at sub-mm spatial resolution under a very low friction condition on the tip of laparoscopic forceps, which is not only applicable to the medical treatment but also industrial robotics applications.