Endoscopic Actuator Force Control with Natural Haptic Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscopic systems in minimally invasive surgery lack a realistic 'finger tactile sensation', leading to complex and often misleading technical solutions that fail to provide authentic sensory feedback, making it difficult for surgeons to intuitively control actuator forces.
Innovation Solution
An endoscopic system with a manually operable actuating unit and an actuator motor controlled by a control unit to manage actuator forces based on the current position and user-operated forces, without exceeding a predefined limit, allowing force variation and control similar to manual systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If force sensors and active drives are used to provide tactile feedback, then sensory force feedback can be conveyed to the user, but the system becomes disproportionately expensive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the surgeon's own hand as the sensor, copying the natural tactile sensing function rather than implementing artificial force sensors. The haptic feedback mechanism copies the natural resistance felt during manual surgery by using the surgeon's hand movements against a mechanical stop to generate proportional feedback forces
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the surgeon's own hand as both the actuator and the sensor. The hand provides the actuating force to move the instrument while simultaneously sensing the tissue resistance through natural tactile feedback, eliminating the need for separate force sensors and complex feedback drives
2Ease of operation
If 1:1 direct force feedback is implemented, then realistic finger tactile sensation is achieved, but the technical realization becomes very demanding and complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using complex sensors and active drives to simulate tactile feedback, the patent inverts the approach by using the surgeon's hand itself as the sensor and generating haptic feedback through the hand's own movements against a mechanical stop. The feedback is generated by the limitation of hand movement rather than by active force generation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the complex force sensing and feedback generation components from the system, replacing them with a simple mechanical stop that provides haptic feedback through the surgeon's own hand movements. This removes the disturbing complexity while preserving the essential tactile feedback function
Data Source
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AI summary
An endoscopic system (10) comprising an actuator (12) at a distal end (14) of the system (10), a hand-operated actuating unit (18) at a proximal end (16) of the system (10) for actuating the actuator (12) and selecting an actuator force (F) with which the actuator (12) is to act on an object (20), wherein the actuating unit (18) is displaceable between an initial position and an end position, an actuator motor (24) configured to actuate the actuator (12), and a control unit (30) configured to actuate the actuator motor (24) first based on a displacement sensor (38) without exceeding a limit value (FTH) and then based on a force sensor (40). Furthermore, a method for actuating an actuator (12) of an endoscopic system (10) is disclosed.