Soft robotic devices have desirable traits for applications in minimally invasive surgery (MIS), but many interdisciplinary challenges remain unsolved. To understand current technologies, we carried out a keyword search using the Web of Science and Scopus databases, applied inclusion and exclusion criteria, and compared several characteristics of the soft robotic devices for MIS in the resulting articles. There was low diversity in the device designs and a wide-ranging level of detail regarding their capabilities. We propose a standardized comparison methodology to characterize soft robotics for various MIS applications, which will aid designers producing the next generation of devices.

Soft Robotics in Minimally Invasive Surgery.

European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery.

In the last decades, fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) have become increasingly attractive to medical applications due to their unique properties such as small size, biocompatibility, immunity to electromagnetic interferences, high sensitivity and multiplexing capability. FBGs have been employed in the development of surgical tools, assistive devices, wearables, and biosensors, showing great potentialities for medical uses. This paper reviews the FBG-based measuring systems, their principle of work, and their applications in medicine and healthcare. Particular attention is given to sensing solutions for biomechanics, minimally invasive surgery, physiological monitoring, and medical biosensing. Strengths, weaknesses, open challenges, and future trends are also discussed to highlight how FBGs can meet the demands of next-generation medical devices and healthcare system.

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Fiber Bragg Gratings for Medical Applications and Future Challenges: A Review

Feasibility of combined use of intravascular ultrasound radiofrequency data analysis and optical coherence tomography for detecting thin-cap fibroatheroma

https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:ce374c0/UQce374c0_OA.pdf

Recent developments in fibre optic shape sensing

Continuum robots provide inherent structural compliance with high dexterity to access the surgical target sites along tortuous anatomical paths under constrained environments and enable to perform complex and delicate operations through small incisions in minimally invasive surgery These advantages enable their broad applications with minimal trauma and make challenging clinical procedures possible with miniaturized instrumentation and high curvilinear access capabilities However, their inherent deformable designs make it difficult to realize 3-D intraoperative real-time shape sensing to accurately model their shape Solutions to this limitation can lead themselves to further develop closely associated techniques of closed-loop control, path planning, human–robot interaction, and surgical manipulation safety concerns in minimally invasive surgery Although extensive model-based research that relies on kinematics and mechanics has been performed, accurate shape sensing of continuum robots remains challenging, particularly in cases of unknown and dynamic payloads This survey investigates the recent advances in alternative emerging techniques for 3-D shape sensing in this field and focuses on the following categories: fiber-optic-sensor-based, electromagnetic-tracking-based, and intraoperative imaging modality-based shape-reconstruction methods The limitations of existing technologies and prospects of new technologies are also discussed

Shape Sensing Techniques for Continuum Robots in Minimally Invasive Surgery: A Survey

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging provides two-dimensional (2-D) real-time luminal and transmural cross-sectional images of intravascular vessels with detailed pathological information. It has offered significant advantages in terms of diagnosis and guidance and has been increasingly introduced from coronary interventions into more generalized endovascular surgery. However, IVUS itself does not provide spatial pose information for its generated images, making it difficult to construct a 3-D intravascular visualization. To address this limitation, IVUS imaging-driven 3-D intravascular reconstruction techniques have been developed. These techniques enable accurate diagnosis and quantitative measurements of intravascular diseases to facilitate optimal treatment determination. Such reconstruction extends the IVUS imaging modality from pure diagnostic assistance to intraoperative navigation and guidance and supports both therapeutic options and interventional operations. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of technological advances and recent progress on IVUS imaging-based 3-D intravascular reconstruction and its state-of-the-art applications. Limitations of existing technologies and prospects of new technologies are also discussed.

Xiongbiao Luo

Papers

Shape Sensing Techniques for Continuum Robots in Minimally Invasive Surgery: A Survey

Three-Dimensional Intravascular Reconstruction Techniques Based on Intravascular Ultrasound: A Technical Review