CISE-RR Equipment Proposal for Medical Robotics and Human-Machine Interfacing Research at the Case Western Reserve University

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This project, investigating medical robotics and human-machine interfaces, aims to acquire infrastructure to support the following research projects: Development of intelligent robotic tools to perform off-pump (beating heart) coronary artery bypass graft surgery, Identification of human strategies in constrained manipulation, especially mechanical assembly, and Investigation of command interface alternatives for rehabilitation robotics.The 1st project replaces conventional surgical tools with robotics instruments that are under direct control of the surgeon through teleoperation. The intelligent telerobotic tools proposed in this project will actively track and cancel the relative motion between the surgical instruments and the heart by Active Relative Motion Canceling (ARMC) algorithms, allowing the surgeries to be performed on a beating heart with technical perfection equal to traditional on-pump procedures. This research focuses on: development of control algorithms for model based ARMC, developing of sensing systems, and modeling of heart behavior. The 2nd more controversial project, modeling human limb control, assumes the existence of a virtual trajectory as a mental representation of intention. The work instruments human manipulation tasks, analyzing the data to infer consistent virtual trajectories. The analysis is then extended to direct transfer of human skills to robots through demonstration. The 3rd project constructs alternative interfaces for robot control from some sources to objectively measure efficacy of competing approaches in a timed robotic target acquisition task. Paralyzed individuals often benefit from being able to command computers, robots, and even their own stimulated limbs using eye, face, and head motions.Broader Impact: If successful, the three projects should have a significant impact on society. The technology developed in the first will facilitate improvement in surgical treatment of coronary artery disease by reducing the rate of complications, risk, and operational cost, saving direct healthcare costs. The second project could impact manufacturing (force-responsive assembly). The third commands interfaces for tetraplegics.