Two reports present updated information on a robotic system that extends the dexterity of a microsurgeon. The system was described in two articles in NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 21, No. 10 (October 1997); namely, "Telerobot Control for Microsurgery" (NPO-19823), on page 46 and "Force-Feedback Device for Microsurgery" (NPO-19822), on page 86. To recapitulate, the surgeon manipulates a handle on a master robot arm, causing a slave robot arm to manipulate a surgical tool on a much finer scale, with hand tremor filtered out. The force of contact between the surgical tool and the patient's tissue is amplified and fed back to the surgeon's hand through the master robot arm.

This work was done by Curtis Boswell, Hari Das, Robert Steele, Timothy Ohm, and Edward Barlow of Caltech and Steve Charles of MicroDexterity Systems, Inc., for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the contractor has elected to retain title to this invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its commercial use should be addressed to

Technology Reporting Office
JPL
Mail Stop 122-116
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
(818) 354-2240

Refer to NPO-20408



This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
Document cover
Update on system for robot-assisted microsurgery

(reference NPO20408) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

Don't have an account? Sign up here.