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Laparoscopic surgeons suffer because of discomfited body posture while performing surgery and experience discomfort owing to lack of customized surgical instruments. Accordingly, this paper aims to recommend an individual customization strategy by developing an ergonomically designed laparoscopic forceps handle and thereby increase the comfort of surgeons.

Hand anthropometric parameters of 282 south Indian male subjects are used to customize the handle. uPrint and Objet260 Connex, which works based on fused deposition modeling and PolyJet, respectively, are used to fabricate the prototype of the handle. Design modifications include a pistol-type grip, the increased contact area between the hand and handle, and neutral wrist posture.

Ergonomic evaluation parameters such as grip, functionality, comfort and wrist posture using subjective ratings from laparoscopic surgeons were recorded and obtained average values of 4.1, 3.6, 4.1 and 4.1, respectively, based on a five-point ordinal scale. Additionally, stress analysis also confirms the safety of the handle based on von Mises stress criteria.

Anthropometric data are limited to 282 subjects and subjective evaluation is conducted using a prototype, not the end-use product.

Evaluation using subjective rating confirms the ascendancy of a modified handle over the existing handle in terms of assessed parameters. The proposed individual customization strategy can be applied for other industrial hand tools to enhance comfort.

This paper describes the design, fabrication, testing, and mathematical modeling of a supported membrane type polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) tactile sensor. Using the designed membrane type sensor (MTS), it is shown that the entire surface of the PVDF film can be employed as a means of detecting the force magnitude and its application point. This is accomplished by utilizing only three sensing elements. Unlike the array type tactile sensors, in which the regions between the neighboring sensing elements are not active, all the surface points of the sensor are practically active in this MTS. A geometric mapping process is introduced, thereby, the loci of the isocharge contours for the three sensing elements are determined by applying force on various points of the sensor surface. In order to form a criterion for the comparison between the experimental findings and the theoretical analysis data, and also to determine the magnitude of the stresses generated in the membrane, finite element modeling is used. The correlation between the theoretical predictions and experimental findings is proven to be reasonable. Potentially, the designed MTS can be incorporated into various medical probes for tactile imaging.

Minimally invasive endoscopic surgery and minimally invasive surgery challenge surgical skills due to the operator's separation from the surgical field and the requirements for long instruments with limited dexterity. To overcome the drawbacks of conventional endoscopic instruments computer‐enhanced telemanipulation systems and robotic systems have been developed in the past. This paper summarizes the requirements for minimally invasive robotic assisted surgery and describes a new robot that has been developed at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The discussion includes a description of the robotic arm, the appropriate control laws, as well as the requirements for actuated and sensorized instruments.

The paper describes co‐robotic devices, aiming at accomplishing surgical operations by remote overseeing and manipulation. The concept design of a modular layout is presented, assuring body penetration by curved and twisted paths, with minimal impact. The fixture develops as an articulated snake‐like forearm, carrying a wrist and the pertinent effectors; scalpels, scissors, sewing rigs, cameras, etc. The fixture is a good example of a micro electro mechanical system, with force‐actuation and shape‐control being intrinsic properties. Different options are studied and the related basic operational characteristics are summarised and compared. The jointed forearm might include one to six blocks. Specifically, task‐oriented end‐effectors are considered, e.g. a self‐operating sewing rig, able to operate with a single thread. The robot co‐operation will drastically modify surgery practice, giving freedom from anthropocentric bounds; the paper introduces such opportunities, with comments on typical control strategies and hints on actual performance, inferred by testing on virtual reality and digital mock‐ups.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the application of low-end, low-fidelity (gaming/consumer-level) haptic devices for medical-based, surgical skills development (surgical bone-based drilling in particular) with serious games and virtual simulations as an affordable training solution with the potential of complementing current and traditional training methods.

The authors present the adaptation of two low-end haptic devices (Novint Falcon and Geomagic 3D Touch) to simulate a surgical drill drilling through bone for a serious game developed for total knee arthroplasty training. The implementation was possible through the analysis of the bone drilling mechanics. The authors provide a quantitative comparison of both haptic devices with respect to forces, movements, and development.

Although further testing is required, the initial results demonstrate that the low-end, consumer-level haptic devices can be incorporated into virtual environments/serious games to allow for the simulation of surgical drilling. The authors also believe that the results will generalize and allow these devices to be used to simulate a variety of technical-based medical procedures.

In contrast to previous work where the focus is placed on cost-prohibitive haptic devices, this approach considers affordable consumer-level solutions that can be easily incorporated into a variety of serious games and virtual simulations. This holds promise that haptic-based virtual simulation and serious games become more widespread, ultimately ensuring that medical trainees are better prepared before exposure to live patients.