Many current neurophysiological, psychophysical, and psychological approaches to vision rest on the idea that when we see, the brain produces an internal representation of the world. The activation of this internal representation is assumed to give rise to the experience of seeing. The problem with this kind of approach is that it leaves unexplained how the existence of such a detailed internal representation might produce visual consciousness. An alternative proposal is made here. We propose that seeing is a way of acting. It is a particular way of exploring the environment. Activity in internal representations does not generate the experience of seeing. The outside world serves as its own, external, representation. The experience of seeing occurs when the organism masters what we call the governing laws of sensorimotor contingency. The advantage of this approach is that it provides a natural and principled way of accounting for visual consciousness, and for the differences in the perceived quality of sensory experience in the different sensory modalities. Several lines of empirical evidence are brought forward in support of the theory, in particular: evidence from experiments in sensorimotor adaptation, visual \"filling in,\" visual stability despite eye movements, change blindness, sensory substitution, and color perception.

A sensorimotor account of vision and visual consciousness-Authors' Response-Acting out our sensory experience

A surgical tool system includes a surgical tool for cutting and stapling tissue and a tactile feedback system integrated onto a handle of the tool that generates relevant feedback in at least the form of haptic effects to the user. The tactile feedback alerts the user of tissue properties, i.e., the type of tissue or other structures located within the jaws of the stapler, whether the quantity or thickness of tissue located within the jaws of the stapler is appropriate for the selected stapler cartridge, whether the proper length of staples has been fired based on the length of tissue located in the jaws, whether a blood vessel is located within the jaws of the stapler, whether the stapling process has successfully sealed the tissue located within the jaws of the stapler, the position of the cutting element, and/or when the stapling procedure or firing cycle is completed.

Surgical stapler having haptic feedback

Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems 参加報告

A surgical tool system includes an electrosurgical tool for sealing and transecting tissue and a tactile feedback system integrated onto a handle of the tool that generates relevant feedback in at least the form of haptic effects to the user. The tactile feedback alerts the user of tissue properties, i.e., when tissue located within jaws of the tool is completely sealed, when the tissue is ready to be cut, the cutting rate or speed, the quantity of tissue located within jaws of the tool, and whether a blood vessel is fully located within jaws of tool. In addition, the tactile feedback alerts the user to the operating status of energy application during the procedure.

Electrosurgical sealing tool having haptic feedback

This article gives an overview of research performed in the field of haptic information feedback during minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Literature has been consulted from 1985 to present. The studies show that currently, haptic information feedback is rare, but promising, in MIS. Surgeons benefit from additional feedback about force information. When it comes to grasping forces and perceiving slip, little is known about the advantages additional haptic information can give to prevent tissue trauma during manipulation. Improvement of haptic perception through augmented haptic information feedback in MIS might be promising.

Haptics in minimally invasive surgery – a review

This article describes the design of a high-bandwidth, iron-less, recoil-based electromagnetic vibrotactile actuator. Its working principle, the theoretical analysis, the method used to determine its transfer function, its scaling properties and its design constraints are discussed along with its fabrication and possible improvements.

Design and analysis of a recoil-type vibrotactile transducer.

Objective: During minimally invasive arthroscopy, surgeons use probes as diagnostic tools to detect tissue anomalies. Improving tactile sensitivity during this activity would be valuable.Materials and Methods: We developed an enhanced probe that could enhance the tactile sensations experienced while probing objects. It operated by detecting the acceleration signal resulting from the interaction of the tool tip with surfaces and by magnifying it for tactile and auditory reproduction. The instrument consisted of an accelerometer and an actuator arranged such that the sensing direction was orthogonal to the actuating direction so as to decouple input from output. Using the instrument, subjects were asked to detect cuts under four conditions: with no amplification, with enhanced tactile feedback, with sound feedback, and with passive touch.Results: We found that for tactile reproduction, the current prototype could amplify the signals by 10 dB on average. Results from statistical methods showed significant im...

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A tactile enhancement instrument for minimally invasive surgery

When an object rolls or slides inside a hand-held tube, a variety of cues are normally available to estimate its location inside the cavity. These cues are related to the dynamics of an object subjected to the laws of physics such as gravity and friction. This may be viewed as a form of sensorymotor coupling which does not involve vision but which links motor output to acoustic and tactile inputs. The theory of sensorymotor contingency posits that humans exploit invariants about the physics of their environment and about their own sensorymotor apparatus to develop the perception of the outside world. We report on the design and the results of an experiment where subjects held an apparatus that simulated the physics of an object rolling or sliding inside a tubular cavity. The apparatus synthesized simple haptic cues resulting from rolling noise or impact on internal walls. Given these cues, subjects were asked to discriminate between the lengths of different virtual tubes. The subjects were not trained at the task and had to make judgments from a single gesture. The results support the idea that the subjects mastered invariants related to the dynamics of objects under the influence of gravity that they were able to use them to perceive the length of invisible cavities.

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An Experiment on Length Perception with a Virtual Rolling Stone

Locomotion generates multisensory information about walked-upon objects. How perceptual systems use such information to get to know the environment remains unexplored. The ability to identify solid (e.g., marble) and aggregate (e.g., gravel) walked-upon materials was investigated in auditory, haptic or audio-haptic conditions, and in a kinesthetic condition where tactile information was perturbed with a vibromechanical noise. Overall, identification performance was better than chance in all experimental conditions and for both solids and the better identified aggregates. Despite large mechanical differences between the response of solids and aggregates to locomotion, for both material categories discrimination was at its worst in the auditory and kinesthetic conditions and at its best in the haptic and audio-haptic conditions. An analysis of the dominance of sensory information in the audio-haptic context supported a focus on the most accurate modality, haptics, but only for the identification of solid materials. When identifying aggregates, response biases appeared to produce a focus on the least accurate modality—kinesthesia. When walking on loose materials such as gravel, individuals do not perceive surfaces by focusing on the most accurate modality, but by focusing on the modality that would most promptly signal postural instabilities.

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Identification of walked-upon materials in auditory, kinesthetic, haptic, and audio-haptic conditions.

This paper addresses the question of strength perception for vibration signals used in mobile devices. Employing devices similar to standard cell phones and using pulsed vibration signals to combat adaptation effects, experiments were performed to study the effect of weight and underlying on perceived strength. Results shows that for the same measured acceleration on the device, a heavier box is perceived to vibrate with greater strength. Furthermore, signals with higher underlying frequency are perceived to be weaker for the same measured acceleration. While our results are consistent with previous studies, they are obtained for the specific condition of ungrounded, vibrating objects held in the hand. Our results suggest the need for a systematic correction law for use by designers to specify the vibratory characteristics of a device as a function of its weight and of the desired operating frequency.

Hsin-Yun Yao

Papers

Design and analysis of a recoil-type vibrotactile transducer.

A tactile enhancement instrument for minimally invasive surgery

An Experiment on Length Perception with a Virtual Rolling Stone

Identification of walked-upon materials in auditory, kinesthetic, haptic, and audio-haptic conditions.

Perceived Vibration Strength in Mobile Devices: The Effect of Weight and Frequency