A tactile sensing software robotic arm system for gynecological examination

Abstract

The present invention discloses a tactile perception soft robot hand system for gynecological examination, which includes two groups of soft robot fingers, a finger drive box, a collaborative robot arm and a human-machine interaction system. The robot fingers are layered column structures made of silicone rubber materials, and are driven by motors and ropes. The tension of the rope can be used to increase the stiffness of the fingers. The flexible piezoresistive sensor integrated at the end of the finger is used to obtain tactile perception signals, and after processing, the visualized tactile information is fed back to the doctor at the remote end for the doctor to make a diagnosis. The proprioceptive sensor inside the finger is used to sense the deformation of the soft robot finger during the deformation process, and to give feedback on the bending angle of the robot finger. The present invention is simple to operate, easy to drive, and compact in structure. When interacting with the patient, it can greatly reduce the patient's foreign body sensation and pain.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of soft robotic arms, and in particular relates to a tactile perception soft robotic arm system for gynecological examination. Background Art

[0002] Digital examination is an important means for doctors to make rapid diagnoses. It involves inserting fingers through natural cavities to examine the reproductive organs and the proximal intestines, mainly including anal examination and vaginal examination. Vaginal examination can provide a comprehensive assessment of gynecological conditions, mainly checking for vaginal deformities and vaginitis, as well as cervical erosion and the degree of erosion, and even determining the size and shape of the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries.

[0003] At present, vaginal digital examination is mainly performed by hand palpation. After wearing gloves, the examiner places his fingers in the patient's vagina and abdomen respectively, and touches the pelvic structure between his hands. Generally speaking, the right hand is inserted into the vagina and the left hand touches the abdomen. The index finger and middle finger (two fingers) inserted into the vagina will check the patency, depth and elasticity of the vagina, and determine whether there are deformities or scars in the vagina. After that, the cervix is ​​palpated to understand the size, shape and hardness of the cervix, and then check for contact bleeding, pus, mucus, etc. to determine the condition of the lesion.

[0004] Traditional rigid robot technology has long been used in the medical field, such as medical exoskeletons, surgical robots, etc. Rigid robot systems perform well in structured environments and have advantages such as high precision, large output force, and mature performance. However, such robots also face many challenges in actual complex application scenarios, such as the need to improve their adaptability in complex structures and unknown environments, and poor compatibility in scenarios with close contact with the human body.

[0005] Soft robots are a hot topic and cutting-edge direction in the field of robotics. Different from traditional rigid robots, soft robots are usually made of flexible materials, have passive adaptability, human-machine interaction safety and high flexibility, and can complete tasks well in complex and unknown environments and in scenes of interaction with people. Research on soft robots will have a significant driving effect on the development and promotion of medical robot systems. The development of soft robot technology in recent years has made it possible to use soft robot fingers to replace doctors to complete palpation, which will greatly free doctors from the tedious daily finger examination operations and help doctors to perform remote palpation. Even doctors who are not in the same physical space can control the soft robot fingers installed on the collaborative robot arm through master-slave remote operation to complete the acquisition of finger examination information. After processing, the information is visualized for doctors to perform the next step, realizing the remote sharing of medical resources, especially well-known physician resources.

[0006] Although soft robots have become a research hotspot, soft robots composed of continuum structures and hyperelastic materials are still faced with challenges in sensing and structural design when used for vaginal digital examination: 1) Many soft robots are open-loop controlled and lack effective feedback and perception information in actual applications. Traditional sensors that have been maturely applied, such as encoders, strain gauges, and inertial measurement units (IMUs), will destroy the flexibility of the soft structure and are not suitable for direct application in soft robots. Compared with traditional and reliable modular sensors used in rigid robots, soft robots require new flexible perception solutions; 2) Soft robot fingers need to have the flexibility of multi-degree-of-freedom movement to examine different positions of the vagina and cervix, and the fingers need to have adjustable stiffness. They have high stiffness when inserted into the vagina to ensure smooth entry into the examination position, and switch to a soft, low-stiffness state during palpation to sense whether there are deformities or scars in the vagina, as well as to check the hardness and mobility of the cervix. There is currently no corresponding technology that can do this. Summary of the invention

[0007] To solve the above problems, the present invention discloses a tactile perception soft robot hand system for gynecological examination. The robot finger is a layered column structure made of silicone rubber, and is driven by a motor and a rope. The tension of the rope can be used to increase the stiffness of the finger. The flexible piezoresistive sensor integrated at the end of the finger is used to obtain the tactile perception signal, and after processing, the visualized tactile information is fed back to the doctor at the remote end for the doctor to make a diagnosis. The proprioceptive sensor inside the finger is used to sense the deformation of the soft robot finger during the deformation process and to give feedback on the bending angle of the robot finger. The present invention is simple to operate, easy to drive, and compact in structure. It can greatly reduce the patient's foreign body sensation and pain when interacting with the patient.

[0008] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0009] A tactile perception soft robotic hand system for gynecological examination includes four parts: two sets of soft robotic fingers of the same size, a finger drive box, a collaborative robotic arm, and a human-computer interaction system.

[0010] The soft robotic finger consists of a finger body, a flexible piezoresistive sensor at the end, and an internal proprioceptive sensor. The finger body is cylindrical, with four cavities of the same depth, namely three surrounding cavities and one central cavity. The outer side of the soft robotic finger is evenly provided with grooves of equal depth, so that the finger is easier to bend under the action of external force; the central cavity is used to assemble the proprioceptive sensor to obtain the deformation of the finger, and the three surrounding cavities are eccentrically assembled with ropes used as driving, so that the finger can achieve the function of universal bending; the front end of the soft robotic finger integrates a flexible piezoresistive sensor to obtain tactile perception signals.

[0011] The two sets of software robot fingers are of the same model and size and can be replaced, reducing manufacturing costs.

[0012] The three ropes extend and retract synchronously, and one of them makes the mechanical finger inserted into the vagina also extend and retract, while the other three ropes extend and retract asynchronously. The fingers pressed on the lower abdomen can bend like human fingers. The purpose of this bending is to press the internal organs downward and cooperate with the fingers in the vagina to complete deep tactile perception, such as sensing a mass behind the inner wall of the uterus.

[0013] The finger driving box is composed of a micro motor, a motor fixing bracket, a limit pulley, a rope pulley, a rope and a box. The box is connected to the soft robot finger as a whole; the micro motor is fixed in the box by the motor fixing bracket; one end of the rope is fixed to the end of the soft robot finger, and the other end is fixed to the rope pulley via the limit pulley; the limit pulley is fixed inside the box, and the position of the rope coming out of the soft robot finger is limited by the limit pulley to prevent the force generated by the rope during the contraction process from acting on the surrounding cavity, thereby damaging the surrounding cavity; the rope pulley is connected to the rotating shaft of the micro motor; when the rotating shaft of the micro motor rotates, the rope connected to the rope pulley is continuously wound, so that the length of the rope eccentrically assembled in the soft robot finger is continuously shortened, thereby causing the soft robot finger to bend; the three micro motors are used to drive a single rope respectively, so that the soft robot finger can achieve the function of universal bending.

[0014] The collaborative robot arm has six degrees of freedom; the two collaborative robot arms are connected to the soft robot fingers via a finger drive box for precise positioning of the soft robot fingers; the bottom end of the collaborative robot arm is fixed to the human-computer interaction system.

[0015] The human-computer interaction system consists of a movable electronic cabinet and a touch screen operation interface; medical workers interact with the soft robotic hand system through the touch screen operation interface; the touch screen operation interface is used to display the tactile signal obtained by the flexible piezoresistive sensor at the end of the soft robotic finger, which is processed to form visual information and handed over to the doctor for the next step of operation; the touch screen operation interface is also used to display the bending signal fed back by the proprioceptive sensor inside the soft robotic finger, which is processed by the system and converted into the bending angle of the finger, thereby realizing the control of the bending angle of the finger.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0017] The soft robotic finger of the present invention is made of silicone rubber material, which can greatly reduce the patient's foreign body sensation and pain when interacting with the patient;

[0018] The present invention adopts a motor & rope driving mode, which is simple to operate, easy to drive, compact in structure, and can be easily integrated into a cable-free system;

[0019] The present invention adopts a motor & rope driving mode, and arranges the ropes in a symmetrical and eccentrically configured surrounding cavity, so that the fingers can achieve the effect of universal bending;

[0020] The soft robot finger of the present invention is made of silicone rubber material, and the outer side of the finger is evenly provided with grooves of equal depth, so that the finger is easier to bend under the action of external force. Under the driving action of the motor and rope, the soft robot finger has a large working space comparable to that of human fingers.

[0021] When the ropes driven by three motors are simultaneously contracted and tightened, the rigidity of the soft robotic finger of the present invention increases, and the soft robotic finger can be smoothly inserted into the vagina and enter the inspection position;

[0022] The front end of the soft robot finger in the present invention integrates a flexible piezoresistive sensor to obtain tactile perception signals, and after computer processing, the visualized tactile information is fed back to the remote doctor, so that the doctor can make a corresponding diagnosis;

[0023] A proprioceptive sensor is integrated in the central cavity of the soft robotic finger of the present invention to obtain the bending signal during the bending process of the finger, which is converted into the bending angle of the finger after processing, so that the deformation of the finger can be controlled;

[0024] The end of the collaborative robot arm in the present invention is connected to a finger drive box connected to the soft robot finger, so as to achieve accurate positioning of the soft robot finger;

[0025] The human-computer interaction system of the present invention can obtain the perception signals collected by the sensor, and after processing, display the visualized information on the touch screen operation interface for the doctor to perform the next step of diagnosis operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the operation of the tactile perception software robotic arm system for gynecological examination according to the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a finger examination of the tactile perception software robotic arm system for gynecological examination according to the present invention.

[0028] Figure 3 This is a side view of the soft robotic finger of the tactile perception soft robotic hand system for gynecological examination described in the present invention.

[0029] Figure 4This is a cavity configuration diagram of the soft robotic finger of the tactile perception soft robotic hand system for gynecological examination described in the present invention.

[0030] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a finger drive box of the tactile sensing software robotic arm system for gynecological examinations according to the present invention.

[0031] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the human-computer interaction system of the tactile perception software robotic arm system for gynecological examinations described in the present invention.

[0032] Description of reference numerals:

[0033] 1—soft robotic finger, 11—finger body, 12—flexible piezoresistive sensor, 13—proprioceptive sensor, 111—central cavity, 112—surrounding cavity, 113—groove;

[0034] 2—finger drive box, 21—micro motor, 22—motor fixing bracket, 23—limiting pulley, 24—rope pulley, 25—rope, 26—box;

[0035] 3—cooperative robot arm, 31—end joint of robot arm;

[0036] 4—Human-computer interaction system, 41—Mobile electronic cabinet, 42—Touch screen operation interface;

[0037] 5—Examination bed;

[0038] 6—patient, 61—lower abdomen, 62—vagina, 63—cervix, 64—uterus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The present invention will be further explained below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the following specific embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0040] The tactile perception software robot hand system for gynecological examination described in the present invention comprises a soft robot finger 1, a finger drive box 2, a collaborative robot arm 3 and a human-machine interaction system 4. Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, the body 11 of the soft robot finger is cylindrical (12-15 mm in diameter); three cavities 112 of the same size and depth are opened around the body 11 of the soft robot finger for configuring the rope 25 (the rope 25 passes through the hole, and the initial position is parallel to the central axis of the finger cylinder), and the central cavity 111 is used to configure the proprioceptive sensor 13 to obtain the bending information of the body 11 of the soft robot finger; the outer side of the body 11 of the soft robot finger is evenly opened with grooves 113 of equal depth; the front end of the body 11 of the soft robot finger is integrated with a flexible piezoresistive sensor 12 for obtaining tactile information.

[0041] The height of a single groove 113 is 5 mm, and the rope is eccentrically configured. When tightened, the fingers will bend to one side, and the bending angle is 0-90°.

[0042] The rope 25 is made of Kevlar wire, has strong wear resistance, is embedded in the finger, does not come into direct contact with the human body, and is harmless to the human body.

[0043] The schematic diagram of the finger drive box is as follows Figure 5 As shown, it is composed of a micro motor 21, a motor fixing bracket 22, a limit pulley 23, a rope pulley 24, a rope 25 and a box 26. The micro motor 21 is fixed in the box 26 by the motor fixing bracket 22; one end of the rope 25 is fixed to the end of the soft robot finger 11, and the other end is fixed to the rope pulley 24 through the limit pulley 23; the rope pulley 24 is connected to the rotating shaft of the micro motor 21.

[0044] The end joint 31 of the collaborative robot arm 3 is connected to the soft robot finger 1 via the finger drive box 2. The human-machine interaction system 4 is composed of a movable electronic cabinet 41 and a touch screen operation interface 42. Figure 6 shown.

[0045] The operation diagram of the tactile perception software robot system for gynecological examination and the finger examination diagram are shown in the following figure respectively. Figure 1 , Figure 2 A complete finger inspection process in the present invention is as follows:

[0046] 1. Patient 6 is ready for examination, lying flat on medical bed 5 with legs spread open;

[0047] Second, the operator uses the touch screen operation interface 42 in the human-machine interaction system 4 to accurately locate the position of the collaborative robot arm 3 so that the two soft robot fingers 1 are respectively placed on the patient's lower abdomen 61 and the outside of the vagina 62;

[0048] 3. The three micromotors 21 drive the rope 25 at the same time. The tension generated by the rope increases the rigidity of the soft robot finger 1 placed outside the vagina 62. When the rigidity is large, the cooperative robot arm 3 is manipulated to allow the soft finger 1 outside the vagina 62 to smoothly enter the patient's vagina 62.

[0049] Fourth, the micro motor 21 is driven in reverse, so that the rope 25 is reset, and at the same time the soft robot finger 1 inside the patient's vagina 62 is transformed into the initial soft state;

[0050] 5. The formal examination begins, which is divided into vaginal wall examination, cervical hardness and mobility examination:

[0051] (1) Vaginal inner wall inspection: The soft robotic finger 1 controlled by the collaborative robotic arm 3 slides inside the patient's vagina 62. When the flexible piezoresistive sensor 12 at the front end of the soft robotic finger 1 slides over the inner wall of the vagina 62 with different surface shapes, textures or biological tissues, it can sense the surface morphology and texture of the contacted object by monitoring the changes in the tactile signal during the sliding process. At the same time, the blood, pus and mucus on the surface of the soft robotic finger 1 after it is extracted from the vagina 62 can be checked to determine the condition of the lesion;

[0052] (2) Inspection of cervical hardness and mobility: The collaborative robot arm 3 manipulates the soft robot finger 1 to slide and press the cervix, and senses the hardness and mobility of the cervix based on the differentiated tactile signals obtained by the flexible piezoresistive sensor 12 at the front end of the soft robot finger 1 when sliding and pressing tissues of different hardness; during the inspection, the soft robot finger 1 placed on the patient's lower abdomen 61 presses the uterus 64, and is used to cooperate with the soft robot finger 1 inside the vagina 62 to sense the texture of the uterus 64 and determine whether there is edema, polyps, or erosion; during the inspection, the proprioceptive sensor 13 is used to sense the degree of bending of the soft robot finger 1, and the collaborative robot arm 3 is used to accurately position the soft robot finger 1 at its end;

[0053] 6. The human-computer interaction system 4 processes the tactile signal obtained by the flexible piezoresistive sensor 12, converts it into a visualized tactile signal and displays it on the touch screen operation interface 42. After big data analysis, the probability of the lesion is determined and handed over to the doctor for further diagnosis.

[0054] It should be noted that the above content only illustrates the technical idea of ​​the present invention and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention. These improvements and modifications all fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tactile perception software robotic arm system for gynecological examination, characterized by: It includes four parts: two sets of soft robot fingers (1), a finger drive box (2), a collaborative robot arm (3) and a human-machine interaction system (4); The soft robotic finger (1) is composed of a finger body (11), a flexible piezoresistive sensor (12) at the end, and an internal proprioceptive sensor (13); the finger body (11) is cylindrical, and has four cavities (112) of equal depth inside, namely three peripheral cavities and one central cavity; the outer side of the soft robotic finger (1) is evenly provided with grooves (113) of equal depth, so that the finger is easier to bend under the action of external force; the central cavity is used to mount the proprioceptive sensor (13) to obtain the deformation amount of the finger, and the three peripheral cavities are eccentrically mounted with driving ropes (25), so that the finger can achieve a universal bending function; the front end of the soft robotic finger (1) is integrated with one of the flexible piezoresistive sensors (12) to obtain tactile perception signals; The finger drive box (2) is composed of a micro motor (21), a motor fixing bracket (22), a limit pulley (23), a rope pulley (24), a rope (25) and a box (26); the box (26) and the soft robot finger (1) are connected as a whole; the micro motor (21) is fixed in the box (26) by the motor fixing bracket; one end of the rope (25) is fixed to the end of the soft robot finger (1), and the other end is fixed to the rope pulley (24) via the limit pulley (23); The limit pulley (23) is fixed inside the box (26), and the rope pulley (24) is connected to the rotating shaft of the micro motor (21); when the rotating shaft of the micro motor (21) rotates, the rope (25) connected to the rope pulley is continuously wound, so that the length of the rope eccentrically mounted in the soft robot finger is continuously shortened, thereby causing the soft robot finger (1) to bend; the three micro motors (21) are respectively used to drive a single rope, so that the soft robot finger can achieve a universal bending function; The collaborative robot arm (3) has six degrees of freedom; two of the collaborative robot arms (3) are connected to the soft robot fingers (1) via a finger drive box (2) for accurate positioning of the soft robot fingers (1); and the bottom end of the collaborative robot arm (3) is fixed to the human-machine interaction system (4).

2. The tactile perception software robotic arm system for gynecological examination according to claim 1, characterized in that: The human-machine interaction system (4) is composed of a movable electronic cabinet (41) and a touch screen operation interface (42); the touch screen operation interface (42) is used to display the tactile signal obtained by the flexible piezoresistive sensor at the end of the soft robotic finger, which is processed to form visual information and handed over to the doctor for the next step of operation; the touch screen operation interface is also used to display the bending signal fed back by the proprioceptive sensor inside the soft robotic finger, which is processed by the system and converted into the bending angle of the finger, thereby realizing the control of the bending angle of the finger.

3. A tactile perception software robotic arm system for gynecological examination according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The complete inspection process includes the following steps:

1. The patient (6) is ready for examination and lies flat on the medical bed (5) with legs spread open; 2. The operator uses the touch screen operation interface (42) in the human-machine interaction system (4) to accurately locate the position of the collaborative robot arm (3) so that the two soft robot fingers (1) are respectively placed on the patient's lower abdomen (61) and the outside of the vagina (62); 3. The three micromotors (21) simultaneously drive the rope (25), and the tension generated by the rope increases the rigidity of the soft robot finger (1) placed outside the vagina (62), and the cooperative robot arm (3) is manipulated to allow the soft finger (1) outside the vagina (62) to smoothly enter the patient's vagina (62); Fourth, the micro motor (21) drives in the reverse direction, so that the rope (25) is reset, and at the same time the soft robot finger (1) inside the patient's vagina (62) is transformed into an initial soft state; 5. The formal examination begins, which is divided into vaginal wall examination, cervical hardness and mobility examination: 1) Inspection of the inner wall of the vagina: The soft robotic finger (1) manipulated by the collaborative robotic arm (3) slides inside the patient's vagina (62). When the soft robotic finger (1) slides over the inner wall of the vagina (62) having different surface shapes, textures or biological tissues, the flexible piezoresistive sensor (12) at the front end of the soft robotic finger (1) senses the surface morphology and texture of the contacted object by monitoring the changes in the tactile signal during the sliding process. At the same time, the condition of the lesion is determined by inspecting the blood, pus and mucus on the surface of the soft robotic finger (1) after it is extracted from the vagina (62); 2) Examination of cervical hardness and mobility: The collaborative robotic arm (3) manipulates the soft robotic finger (1) to slide and press the cervix, and senses the hardness and mobility of the cervix based on the differentiated tactile signals obtained by the flexible piezoresistive sensor (12) at the front end of the soft robotic finger (1) when sliding and pressing tissues of different hardness; during the examination, the soft robotic finger placed on the patient's lower abdomen (61) presses the uterus (64) from the outside and above, and is used to cooperate with the soft robotic finger (1) inside the vagina (62) to sense the texture of the uterus (64) and determine whether there is edema, polyps, or erosion; during the examination, the proprioceptive sensor (13) is used to sense the degree of bending of the soft robotic finger (1), and the collaborative robotic arm (3) is used to accurately position the soft robotic finger (1) at its end; 6. The human-computer interaction system (4) processes the tactile signal obtained by the flexible piezoresistive sensor (12), converts it into a visual tactile signal and displays it on the touch screen operation interface (42). After big data analysis, the probability of the lesion is determined and handed over to the doctor for further diagnosis.

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