METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND DEVICES RELATING TO FORCE CONTROL SURGICAL SYSTEMS

The various embodiments herein relate to robotic surgical systems and devices that use force and/or torque sensors to measure forces applied at various components of the system or device. Certain implementations include robotic surgical devices having one or more force/torque sensors that detect or measure one or more forces applied at or on one or more arms. Other embodiments relate to systems having a robotic surgical device that has one or more sensors and an external controller that has one or more motors such that the sensors transmit information that is used at the controller to actuate the motors to provide haptic feedback to a user

METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND DEVICES FOR SURGICAL ACCESS AND INSERTON

The various embodiments herein relate to systems, devices, and/or methods relating to Surgical procedures, and more specifically for accessing an insufflated cavity of a patient and/or positioning Surgical systems or devices into the cavity

Measurement and Description of Dynamics Required for \u3ci\u3ein vivo\u3c/i\u3e Surgical Robotics via Kinematic Methods

With the goal of improved recovery times and reduced trauma to the patient there has been a substantial shift in the medical community’s demand for minimally invasive surgical (MIS) techniques. With the standardization of MIS becoming more commonplace in the medical field there are still many improvements that are desired. Traditional, manual methods of these surgeries require multiple incisions on the abdomen for the tools and instruments to be inserted. The more recent demand has been to localize the incisions into what is being referred to as a Laparoendoscopic Single-Site (LESS) surgery. Furthermore, the manual instruments that are commonly used are rigid and when inserted create a pivot point with the abdominal wall. The pivot created greatly decreases the intuitiveness and usability of instruments by inverting the required maneuvers of the surgeon. The solution to these problems is to utilize a controlled surgical robotic system designed and optimized for the LESS surgical constraints. Such a solution recovers normal movement to the surgeon; however, the primary limitation to this answer is the unknown requirements on the design. Although the size of the abdominal cavity and space requirements are fundamentally known by observation, in order to successfully complete a MIS the forces and torques involved are also necessary. Such an observation is much more difficult to obtain and these quantities remain largely unknown. It is the method of acquisition and the discovered magnitude of these that will be presented in this thesis. It is then possible to utilize these new data to adjust the various parameters of the surgical robot to further optimize abdominal cavity constraint usage. Advisor: Shane M. Farrito

METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND DEVICES RELATING TO FORCE CONTROL SURGICAL SYSTEMS

The various embodiments herein relate to robotic surgical systems and devices that use force and/or torque sensors to measure forces applied at various components of the system or device. Certain implementations include robotic surgical devices having one or more force/torque sensors that detect or measure one or more forces applied at or on one or more arms. Other embodiments relate to systems having a robotic surgical device that has one or more sensors and an external controller that has one or more motors such that the sensors transmit information that is used at the controller to actuate the motors to provide haptic feedback to a user

METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND DEVICES FOR SURGICAL ACCESS AND INSERTON

The various embodiments herein relate to systems, devices, and/or methods relating to Surgical procedures, and more specifically for accessing an insufflated cavity of a patient and/or positioning Surgical systems or devices into the cavity

Expression and Activity of Phosphodiesterase Isoforms during Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition: The Role of Phosphodiesterase 4

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) has emerged as a critical event in the pathogenesis of organ fibrosis and cancer and is typically induced by the multifunctional cytokine transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the potential role of phosphodiesterases (PDEs) in TGF-β1-induced EMT in the human alveolar epithelial type II cell line A549. Stimulation of A549 with TGF-β1 induced EMT by morphological alterations and by expression changes of the epithelial phenotype markers E-cadherin, cytokeratin-18, zona occludens-1, and the mesenchymal phenotype markers, collagen I, fibronectin, and α-smooth muscle actin. Interestingly, TGF-β1 stimulation caused twofold increase in total cAMP-PDE activity, contributed mostly by PDE4. Furthermore, mRNA and protein expression demonstrated up-regulation of PDE4A and PDE4D isoforms in TGF-β1-stimulated cells. Most importantly, treatment of TGF-β1 stimulated epithelial cells with the PDE4-selective inhibitor rolipram or PDE4 small interfering RNA potently inhibited EMT changes in a Smad-independent manner by decreasing reactive oxygen species, p38, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation. In contrast, the ectopic overexpression of PDE4A and/or PDE4D resulted in a significant loss of epithelial marker E-cadherin but did not result in changes of mesenchymal markers. In addition, Rho kinase signaling activated by TGF-β1 during EMT demonstrated to be a positive regulator of PDE4. Collectively, the findings presented herein suggest that TGF-β1 mediated up-regulation of PDE4 promotes EMT in alveolar epithelial cells. Thus, targeting PDE4 isoforms may be a novel approach to attenuate EMT-associated lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer