1 research outputs found
Sclera Force Control in Robot-assisted Eye Surgery: Adaptive Force Control vs. Auditory Feedback
Surgeon hand tremor limits human capability during microsurgical procedures
such as those that treat the eye. In contrast, elimination of hand tremor
through the introduction of microsurgical robots diminishes the surgeon's
tactile perception of useful and familiar tool-to-sclera forces. While the
large mass and inertia of eye surgical robot prevents surgeon microtremor, loss
of perception of small scleral forces may put the sclera at risk of injury. In
this paper, we have applied and compared two different methods to assure the
safety of sclera tissue during robot-assisted eye surgery. In the active
control method, an adaptive force control strategy is implemented on the
Steady-Hand Eye Robot in order to control the magnitude of scleral forces when
they exceed safe boundaries. This autonomous force compensation is then
compared to a passive force control method in which the surgeon performs manual
adjustments in response to the provided audio feedback proportional to the
magnitude of sclera force. A pilot study with three users indicate that the
active control method is potentially more efficient.Comment: Conference paper accepted for International Symposium on Medical
Robotics (ISMR) 2019, 7 pages (6 pages manuscript and 1 page reference), 7
figures, 1 tabl