Contact force measurement of instruments for force-feedback on a surgical robot: acceleration force cancellations based on acceleration sensor readings.

For delicate operations conducted using surgical robot systems, surgeons need to receive information regarding the contact forces on the tips of surgical instruments. For the detection of this contact force, one of the authors previously proposed a new method, called the overcoat method, in which the instrument is supported by sensors positioned on the overcoat pipe. This method requires cancellation of the acceleration forces of the instrument/holder attached to the overcoat sensor. In the present report, the authors attempt to use acceleration sensors to obtain the acceleration forces of the instrument/holder. The new cancellation method provides a force-detection accuracy of approximately 0.05-0.1 N for a dynamic response range of up to approximately 20 Hz, compared to approximately 1 Hz, which was achieved by using acceleration forces based on the theoretical robot motion.