Restoring the Sense of Touch in Minimally Invasive Surgery

Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Microfluidics and Microdevices Laboratory (AMMLab) have created an innovative sensing system to restore tactile feedback in minimally invasive surgery (MIS), improving precision, ease of use, and safety. This new "off-the-jaw" system incorporates force and angle sensors into the handle of laparoscopic tools, allowing surgeons to receive real-time data on grasping forces, tissue stiffness, and thickness (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Off-the-Jaw Tactile Sensing System for Tissue Stiffness and Thickness Assessment in Minimally Invasive Surgery

Go to source). Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) involves small incisions, reducing pain, shortening recovery times, and lowering infection risks. However, traditional MIS tools eliminate the surgeon’s sense of touch, making it difficult to determine the appropriate force to apply or distinguish between different types of tissue. This lack of tactile sensation can lead to errors, such as over- or under-grasping delicate tissues.

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Innovative "Off-the-Jaw" Design

The NYU Abu Dhabi researchers’ unique "off-the-jaw" design, detailed in IEEE Access, marks a significant departure from previous approaches, which typically placed sensors at the jaws of surgical tools. It is the first solution to separate the sensing mechanism from the surgical site itself. This solution offers a simplified, cost-effective alternative that seamlessly integrates with any commercially available laparoscopic tool, addressing challenges related to sensor integration, wiring complexity, contamination, and sterilization requirements.

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Enhancing Surgical Precision and Safety

Beyond improving surgical precision and safety, this new technology could also shorten the learning curve for new surgeons by providing objective tactile feedback, accelerating their mastery of MIS techniques. Its scalability means it could be adapted for robotic-assisted surgery, endoscopy, telemedicine, and other medical applications.

Restoring the Sense of Touch in Surgery

"Minimally invasive surgery has revolutionized the field, but the lack of tactile feedback remains a challenge," said NYU Abu Dhabi Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering Mohammad A. Qasaimeh. "Our new system restores this missing sense of touch, giving surgeons real-time data on tissue stiffness and thickness. This 'off-the-jaw' approach not only eliminates contamination risks but also makes the technology easier to integrate without requiring complex modifications to existing surgical tools."

"Early trials have demonstrated a 30 percent improvement in surgical task efficiency, highlighting the practical impact of this technology on surgical performance," added Wael Othman, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Researcher at the AMMLab. "Looking ahead, we plan to refine this system for robotic-assisted surgeries and explore even more sensitive microfluidic-based sensors for enhanced tissue differentiation."

Reference:

1. Off-the-Jaw Tactile Sensing System for Tissue Stiffness and Thickness Assessment in Minimally Invasive Surgery - (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10925211?source=authoralert)

Source-Eurekalert