A triple-jaw actuated and sensorized instrument for grasping large organs during minimally invasive robotic surgery

Background Secure grasping and effective manipulation of delicate large organs during robotic surgery operations needs especially designed instruments that can enclose a large amount of tissue and feed back the pinch forces. Methods A large organ triple-jaw grasper was instrumented using practical force sensory and actuating systems. A force tracking scheme was proposed to facilitate auto-grasping of large organs during robotic teleoperation surgery. An on-site force commanding/reflecting mechanism was also implemented to use the device as an independent hand-held robotic instrument. The efficacy of the robotic grasper was examined in phantom tests. Results The instrument grasped large soft objects effectively and safely with accurately measured and controlled pinch forces. Furthermore, it could characterize the overall mechanical behavior of the grasping objects. Conclusions The instrument designed provides a potential solution for the safe and effective grasping and manipulation of large abdominal organs, either as a hand-held device, or in a teleoperation framework. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.