A Force-Sensing Semi-Automated Robotic Needle Driver for Minimally Invasive Surgery

Teleoperated robotic surgery systems have enhanced surgical operations’ efficiency. However, these systems have limitations, such as lack of force feedback to the surgeon and complicated manipulation for tasks such as suturing. In this paper, a force-sensing instrument is presented with a robotic needle driver that facilitates suturing. A rotating degree of freedom (DOF) enables the cable-driven end-effector to insert the needle through its curvature. Moreover, an indirect force estimation approach was developed to approximate the needle-tissue interaction force. A mapping between robot sensors’ data and target interaction force was created using a data-based model. Next, experimental evaluations of the proposed instrument were conducted. According to the experimental results, the generated trajectory had a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.59 mm and the accuracy of the force estimation model was 0.21 N RMSE. In conclusion, these results demonstrate the potential of the proposed instrument for bilateral control systems.