Abstract
BackgroundA new sensor for estimating elasticity of soft tissues such as a liver was developed for minimally invasive surgery application.MethodsBy measuring deformation and adjusting internal pressure of the pneumatic sensor head, the sensor can be used to do palpation (indentation) of tissues with wide range of stiffness. A video camera installed within the sensor shell is used to register the radius of the contact area. Based on finite element model simulations and the measured data, elastic modulus of the indented soft tissue can be calculated.Results and conclusionsThree phantom materials, namely plastic, silicone and gelatin, with varied stiffness were tested. The experimental results demonstrated that the new sensor can obtain highly reliable data with error less than 5%. The new sensor might be served as an instrument in laparoscopic surgery for diagnosis of pathological tissues or internal organs.
Highlights
A new sensor for estimating elasticity of soft tissues such as a liver was developed for minimally invasive surgery application
From the finite element simulations, a distribution of contact pressure for different values of sensor indentation depth and additional pneumatic pressure was obtained (Fig. 8), as well as the dependence of the contact radius on parameter us (Fig. 9) for contact of the sensor shell with the silicone and gelatin phantom, respectively
The results show that the model simulation is consistent with the experimental data, and the mechanical properties of gelatin are well simulated by using an incompressible linear elastic model
Summary
A new sensor for estimating elasticity of soft tissues such as a liver was developed for minimally invasive surgery application. The new sensor might be served as an instrument in laparoscopic surgery for diagnosis of pathological tissues or internal organs. Ongoing improvement of medical equipment enables an invention of new less traumatic surgical instruments called minimally invasive surgery tools. In the past a number of devices to determine stiffness of soft tissue have been developed. Many approaches such as physical wave methods—magnetic resonance elastography [2, 3] and ultrasound scans [4, 5]—as well as sensor [6] for relative soft tissue compliance have been suggested.
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