Traditional hard tissue grippers are limited in handling delicate soft tissues during surgery, particularly due to the high stress points that are generated on the soft tissue during gripping. In this study, customizable soft pneumatic chamber–gripper devices were designed to provide compliant gripping, so as to replace conventional tissue grippers such as the laparoscopic grasper or forceps in delicate tissue manipulation. The soft chamber–gripper device involves very simple design and control to generate actuation. It is fabricated from an elastomeric material using a modified soft lithography technique. The device consists of a gripper component that can be made up of one or more gripper arms with a pneumatic channel in each arm, and a chamber filled with air. The pneumatic channels are positioned close to the outer wall of the gripper arms and are connected to the chamber. Upon compression of the chamber, the pneumatic channels will inflate towards the outer walls, which thus bends the gripper arms and results in a closed gripping posture. This soft chamber–gripper device can be used to pick up objects of size up to 2 mm with a compressive force that is more than three times smaller than the grip force generated by traditional forceps. This will be useful in preventing tissue trauma during surgical manipulation, especially in nerve anastomosis.
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December 2014
Technical Briefs
Customizable Soft Pneumatic Chamber–Gripper Devices for Delicate Surgical Manipulation
Jin-Huat Low,
Jin-Huat Low
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
9 Engineering Drive 1,
Block EA #03-12,
National University of Singapore
,9 Engineering Drive 1,
Block EA #03-12,
117575, Singapore
;Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology,
28 Medical Dr. #05-COR,
e-mail: bieljh@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore
,28 Medical Dr. #05-COR,
117456, Singapore
e-mail: bieljh@nus.edu.sg
Search for other works by this author on:
Ignacio Delgado-Martinez,
Ignacio Delgado-Martinez
Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology,
28 Medical Dr. #05-COR,
e-mail: ignacio.delgado@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore
,28 Medical Dr. #05-COR,
117456, Singapore
e-mail: ignacio.delgado@nus.edu.sg
Search for other works by this author on:
Chen-Hua Yeow
Chen-Hua Yeow
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
9 Engineering Drive 1,
Block EA #03-12,
National University of Singapore
,9 Engineering Drive 1,
Block EA #03-12,
117575, Singapore
;Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology,
117456, Singapore
e-mail: rayeow@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore
,28 Medical Dr. #05-COR
,117456, Singapore
e-mail: rayeow@nus.edu.sg
Search for other works by this author on:
Jin-Huat Low
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
9 Engineering Drive 1,
Block EA #03-12,
National University of Singapore
,9 Engineering Drive 1,
Block EA #03-12,
117575, Singapore
;Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology,
28 Medical Dr. #05-COR,
e-mail: bieljh@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore
,28 Medical Dr. #05-COR,
117456, Singapore
e-mail: bieljh@nus.edu.sg
Ignacio Delgado-Martinez
Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology,
28 Medical Dr. #05-COR,
e-mail: ignacio.delgado@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore
,28 Medical Dr. #05-COR,
117456, Singapore
e-mail: ignacio.delgado@nus.edu.sg
Chen-Hua Yeow
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
9 Engineering Drive 1,
Block EA #03-12,
National University of Singapore
,9 Engineering Drive 1,
Block EA #03-12,
117575, Singapore
;Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology,
117456, Singapore
e-mail: rayeow@nus.edu.sg
National University of Singapore
,28 Medical Dr. #05-COR
,117456, Singapore
e-mail: rayeow@nus.edu.sg
Manuscript received November 5, 2013; final manuscript received May 9, 2014; published online xx xx, xxxx. Assoc. Editor: Carl Nelson.
J. Med. Devices. Dec 2014, 8(4): 044504 (5 pages)
Published Online: August 19, 2014
Article history
Received:
November 5, 2013
Revision Received:
May 9, 2014
Citation
Low, J., Delgado-Martinez, I., and Yeow, C. (August 19, 2014). "Customizable Soft Pneumatic Chamber–Gripper Devices for Delicate Surgical Manipulation." ASME. J. Med. Devices. December 2014; 8(4): 044504. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4027688
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