Laser micromachining system for the development of sensorized medical devices

该提案申请资金购买一个193纳米准分子激光微加工系统，用于制造小型传感器，用于各种适合微创手术和治疗（MIST）的仪器。在MIST中，器械通过小的（10毫米）切口进入患者体内。与开放手术相比，这种类型的手术显著减少了对身体的创伤、术后疼痛和住院时间。CSTAR（加拿大外科技术和先进机器人）的许多正在进行的项目都集中在开发这种手术的新设备和技术上。项目包括开发用于肿瘤定位的仪器、单通道手术（仪器直径通常小于3毫米）、主动导管、基于探针和针的消融治疗（例如，近距离治疗和射频消融）的输送，以及用于触觉、机器人辅助的MIST的试验台。在这些项目中，目前可用的传感器的尺寸和能力限制了用于MIST的设备的设计和功能。例如，为了克服在入口点由于摩擦、力矩和力缩放而导致的触觉线索丢失，需要将力传感元件放置在MIST仪器的尖端或附近；然而，即使是最小的应变片也往往太大，难以准确应用。所要求的激光微加工中心将允许通过精确烧蚀沉积在仪器尖端、轴和柔性元件上的绝缘和半导体层来就地制造应变敏感元件。由此产生的微型应变片将比市售的应变片更小，没有粘连和对准问题，并且可以制成任何所需的图案。准分子激光系统的多功能性允许高精度切割，蚀刻，钻孔和烧蚀各种材料，包括金属，聚合物，陶瓷和玻璃。这种能力对于开发适合MIST仪器使用的传感器技术至关重要。

This proposal is requesting funds to purchase a 193-nm excimer laser micromachining system for the fabrication of small-scale sensors to be incorporated into a variety of instruments suitable for minimally invasive surgery and therapy (MIST). In MIST, instruments enter the patient's body through small (10 mm) incisions. This type of surgery significantly reduces trauma to the body, post-operative pain and the length of hospital stay compared to open surgery. Many of the ongoing projects at CSTAR (Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics) are focused on the development of new devices and techniques for this type of surgery. Projects include the development of instruments for tumour localization, single port access surgery (where instruments are often less than 3 mm in diameter), active catheters, the delivery of probe and needle based ablative therapies (e.g., brachytherapy and radio-frequency ablation), and a test-bed for haptics-enabled, robotics-assisted MIST. In each of these projects, the size and capabilities of currently available sensors impose limits on the design and functionality of devices intended for use in MIST. For example, to overcome the loss of haptic cues due to friction, moments and force scaling at the entry point, it is desirable to place force-sensing elements at or near the tip of MIST instruments; however, even the smallest strain gauges are often too large and are too difficult to apply accurately. The requested laser micromachining centre would allow strain-sensitive elements to be fabricated in-place by precisely ablating insulating and semiconductor layers deposited on instrument tips, shafts and flexure elements. The resulting micro strain gauges would be smaller than commercially-available gauges, free from adhesion and alignment issues, and could be made into any desired pattern. The versatility of the excimer laser system allows for high precision cutting, etching, drilling and ablation of a wide variety of materials including metals, polymers, ceramics and glasses. This capability is essential to the development of sensor technologies suitable for use in MIST instrumentation.