Update on System for Robot-Assisted Microsurgery

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.