A suction based tissue gripper for Minimal Invasive Surgery

A suction based tissue gripper for Minimal Invasive Surgery: An explorative design study

Kortman, Vera (TU Delft Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering)

Sakes, A. (mentor)
Breedveld, P. (mentor)
Jovanova, J. (graduation committee)
Horeman, T. (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Mechanical Engineering

2021-05-28

Gripping slippery, compliant, and irregular tissues during MIS is often challenging using a conventional gripper. A force grip has to compensate for the low friction coefficient between the gripper’s jaws and tissue surface. This study focuses on the development of a suction gripper as an alternative for the well-known tissue gripper. Suction technology applies only normal forces to grip the tissue without the need to enclose it. Inspiration is taken from biological suction discs. These are able to attach to a wide variety of substrates, varying from slimy surfaces to rough rocks subjected to chaotic streams. The designed suction gripper is divided into two parts; the suction chamber inside the handle where vacuum pressure is generated, and the suction tip that makes contact with the target tissue. The suction tip fits trough a 10 mm diameter trocar, and unfolds in a larger suction surface when being retracted from the trocar. The suction tip is built in a layered manner. Each layer focuses on a specific function to allow for safe and effective tissue handling: 1) Foldability, 2) Air Tightness, and 3) Slide ability. The footprint of the tip focuses on its adaptability to different substrates. Experimental validation of the suction tip’s attachment performance on slippery and flexible phantom tissue showed a maximal attachment force of 3.27±0.15 N. The occurrence of leakage appeared to be the main reason that larger attachment forces are not reached. The proposed prototype of the suction tip provides a base for further research to develop a reliable and effective tissue gripper actuated by suction.

Suction disc
biologically inspired design
Suction gripper
Minimal Invasive Surgery
Soft Robotics

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ce4849d5-0dc7-4f0c-9491-d81c87ee7161

2022-05-29

Student theses

master thesis

© 2021 Vera Kortman