Online measuring and evaluation of guidewire inserting resistance for robotic interventional surgery systems

Detecting catheter resistance during surgery is an important aspect of robotic interventional surgery. This haptic feedback can improve doctors’ sense of realism, and therefore, the safety of the procedure. The resistance to the catheter or guidewire is the only basis for providing doctors with haptic feedback, and is also an important parameter in surgical safety strategy design. In master–slave interventional robots, catheter resistance is measured by the slave side, specifically, the catheter or guidewire manipulator. Any of four problems may occur during catheter and guidewire resistance measurements: friction and slipping, bending, damage to the catheter, or damage to the guidewire. In this study, we designed a novel torque that nondestructively clamps the catheter or guidewire to prevent slippage and damage. We also developed a new catheter/guidewire manipulator that allows the catheter/guidewire’s movements and resistance measurements to occur coaxially, preventing the catheter/guidewire from bending during motion and measurement. All movable parts in the manipulator are connected by sliding rails to reduce errors caused by friction. The results of evaluation of haptic feedback using simulated surgery indicate that the operators provided with haptic feedback can significantly reduce the duration of an operation and the resulting impact force.