Miniaturized rigid probe driver with haptic loop control for neurosurgical interventions

During neurosurgical “keyhole” procedures (i.e. functional neurosurgery and biopsies), linear probes are inserted into the brain toward selected targets. Recently, robotic systems have been introduced to help the surgeon to improve the operation accuracy and safety while simultaneously reducing the invasiveness of the procedure. In this paper, an innovative miniaturized linear actuator for neurosurgical probe insertion, with a remote master device, is presented. The linear actuator, with three piezo-motors that allow the movement of the probe, is equipped with a position sensor and with a force sensor in order to provide the surgeon with haptic feedback. The haptic master drives the linear actuator and reproduces and amplifies the contact forces between the surgical tool and the brain tissue. The results of two different force sensing modalities are compared. First tests show the surgical application requirements are satisfied.