Force Sensing Surgical Forceps Using Novel Piezoelectric TFT Array for Robotic Surgery

与传统手术相比，微创机器人手术具有许多优势，因为它可以降低风险，包括更小的伤口，更快的恢复，对患者的创伤更小，以及可以远距离进行手术。为了利用这些优势，手术机器人必须在手术部位配备触觉反馈，从而使它们具有触觉。触觉反馈对于外科医生描述和操作具有不同机械特性的各种类型的健康组织、操作肿瘤以及缝合任意几何形状的伤口以改善患者预后至关重要。为了将触觉能力带到微创机器人手术中，应该在手术钳上放置多个传感器，以便组织和钳子之间的相互作用可以被记录下来，并通过触觉和/或视觉界面传递给外科医生。然而，由于手术钳空间极其有限，在手术钳上部署传感器非常具有挑战性。在这个项目中，我们将直接将高分辨率的力传感器阵列与手术钳的尖端集成在一起，并演示它们与达芬奇手术机器人的集成，为手术医生提供高时空触觉反馈。该项目为本科生、高中生和代表性不足的少数民族学生提供了材料科学、工程和医学跨学科研究的培训机会。它补充和改进了课程课程，并促进了与临床合作伙伴的强有力的翻译交流。为了将新型微力传感器阵列与外科手术钳相集成，使外科医生有触觉，我们将在柔性衬底上开发能够同时感应和放大法向力的压电式氧化锌(ZnO)薄膜晶体管(TFT)。通过将三维硅胶柱集成在四组氧化锌TFT的顶部，我们将能够测量剪切力的幅度和方向，剪切力从硅胶柱机械转换到氧化锌TFT，从而产生放大的电信号作为响应。这项拟议的技术可以将传感器的尺寸缩小到亚毫米级，外形轻薄且灵活。通过在机器人手术钳的钳口上安装传感器，我们将演示实时监控钳子与组织相互作用时施加在钳子上的法向和剪切力。监测到的力信息将与反馈装置连接到触觉手套上。操作员显示器上还将提供视觉反馈，以指示钳子对组织施加的力的幅度。建议的技术的有效性将由多名外科医生进行评估，以统计方式得出优势。这项研究中提出的进展预计将极大地有利于患者护理，并进一步了解钳子与组织之间相互作用的机械方面，这是在不久的将来发展完全自主机器人手术的重要一步。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Minimally invasive robotic surgery offers many advantages over conventional surgery because it can reduce risks including smaller incisions, faster recovery, less trauma to the patient, and the potential to be conducted from a distance. To exploit these advantages, surgical robots must be equipped with tactile feedback in the surgical site, thereby equipping them with the sense of touch. Tactile feedback is critically important for surgeons to characterize and manipulate various types of healthy tissue with different mechanical properties, manipulate tumors, and suture incisions with arbitrary geometries leading to improved patient outcomes. To bring the capabilities of tactile sensation to minimally invasive robotic surgery, multiple sensors should be placed at the surgical forceps, such that the interaction between the tissue and the forceps can be recorded and delivered to surgeons via haptic and/or visual interfaces. However, deploying sensors at the surgical forceps is very challenging due to their extremely limited space. In this project, we will directly integrate high-resolution force sensor arrays with tips of the surgical forceps and demonstrate their integration with the da Vinci surgical robot to provide high spatiotemporal tactile sensation for haptic feedback to the operating surgeon. The project provides training opportunities for undergraduate, high school, and under-represented minority students in interdisciplinary research in materials science, engineering, and medicine. It augments and improves the course curriculum and fosters a robust translational exchange with clinical partners.To integrate novel microforce sensor arrays with surgical forceps to give surgeons the sense of touch, we will develop piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film transistors (TFTs) on flexible substrates that can simultaneously sense and amplify normal forces. By integrating three-dimensional silicone pillars on top of groups of four ZnO TFTs, we will be able to measure the amplitude and direction of shear forces that are mechanically transduced from the silicone pillars to the ZnO TFTs that produce an amplified electrical signal in response. The proposed technology can scale sensors down to sub millimeter scales with thin and flexible form factor. By mounting sensors on the jaws of the robotic surgical forceps, we will demonstrate real-time monitoring of normal and shear force applied to the forceps during their interaction with tissue. The monitored force information will be linked with a feedback apparatus to a haptic glove. Visual feedback will also be provided on the operator display to indicate the amplitude of the force that the forceps exert on the tissue. The effectiveness of the proposed technology will be evaluated by multiple surgeons to derive the advantages in a statistical way. The advances proposed in this research are envisioned to greatly benefit patient care and to further the understanding of the mechanical aspects of the interaction between forceps with tissues, an important step towards developing fully autonomous robotic surgery in the near future.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.