Design and static calibration of a six-dimensional force/torque sensor for minimally invasive surgery

Abstract

Introduction: The use of surgery robotics is getting more and more important worldwide. In the present study, we propose a novel small-size six-dimensional force/torque sensor with the structure of double cross beams. This technology can be applied in robotic tele-operation systems used in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) robotic systems. Material and methods: The proposed sensor is made of duralumin which totally meets the stiffness requirement. The output voltage of the sensor will alter with the deformation of the elastic body and strain gauges. The feasibility was discussed by finite element analysis (FEA) and the coupling coefficient matrix was established with dimension reduced according to FEA. In addition, we designed a calibration platform and completed static calibration for the sensor. The methods and principles of measurements and data analysis were provided. Results: The calibration curves and coupling coefficient matrix were acquired by using the least squares method (LSM). Conclusion: Experimental tests and calibration error analysis showed that the proposed sensor has high accuracy, appropriate range, and played a role in promoting the application of force feedback technology in MIS.

Key words::

• Six-dimensional force/torque sensor
• minimally invasive surgery
• tele-operation
• finite element analysis

Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was supported by the Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61190124, 61190120), National Science & Technology pillar program of China (2009BAI71B06), National High Technology Research and Development program of China (2006AA01Z310, 2009AA01Z313), National Nature Science Foundation of China (60873131), National Science and Technology Innovation Fund for small and medium-sized enterprises (11C26213100942), Program of Medicine and Engineering Cross Fund of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (YG2012MS54).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.