Surgical robotic systems with rigid components have been extensively researched as methods to assist in various medical procedures and surgeries. While these systems have been highly effective in assisting a variety of minimally invasive surgeries, they are restricted to discrete motions, and do not provide the flexibility or compliance necessary for applications that require navigation through the tortuous paths of the body. Recent growth and development in the field of soft robotics have allowed researchers to overcome many of these restrictions with the potential to exceed the performance of rigid robotics. However, soft robotic sensing capabilities still leave much to be desired in a field where accuracy and sensitivity are key.
Previous work on a soft robotic sleeve with embedded soft optical force sensors has shown the potential for soft optical waveguides to be a viable method of improving navigation and safety in colonoscopy procedures. Here, we improve upon this work through a complete overhaul of the soft optical waveguide architecture to allow for increased contact force sensitivity and the ability to detect distributed forces all while boasting a significantly thinner physical profile. This is accomplished through the integration of advanced hybrid stiffness structures, fabrication techniques, mechanical design, and core material into an updated sleeve. The sleeve’s performance is then validated in a testing environment simulating the forces displayed in a human colon during colonoscopy procedures. / 2025-05-31T00:00:00Z
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/44779 |
| Date | 24 May 2022 |
| Creators | Baldiswieler, Mark |
| Contributors | Russo, Sheila |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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