Description

Soft robotics plays a pivotal role in advancing surgical robotics, particularly in Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS). Soft surgical manipulators offer exceptional dexterity, enabling intricate procedures and natural interactions with soft tissue. Pneumatically actuated soft manipulators, controlling multiple degrees of freedom (DOF), improve manoeuvrability for laparoscopic end-effectors, potentially minimizing incision sizes in complex abdominal MIS operations, such as colon surgeries.
The effectiveness of surgery hinges on the quality of feedback data. Variations in tissue stiffness can indicate the presence of tumours, influencing the surgeon’s approach. Soft robotic surgical tools equipped with tactile and stiffness sensing capabilities, hold the promise of advancing soft tissue diagnostics. Future systems aim to precisely locate cancer within healthy tissue and inform surgeons about oncological margins. This workshop delves into advancements in physical palpation and soft-tissue stiffness sensing for precise cancer identification in MIS.
The workshop addresses key challenges in MIS palpation and sensing, including:

• Integration of tactile and force sensors while preserving soft robotic structures’ flexibility
• Advanced, data-driven methods for reliable interpretation of sensor signals in soft robotic structures
• Product development life cycle, starting from unmet clinical needs to the product inside OR
• Diverse applications of soft robotics in MIS and current obstacles

Project partners from the PALPABLE EU project will lead discussions on state-of-the-art soft sensors and actuators, highlighting their work in robotic tissue palpation for MIS. Experts from robotics, surgical devices, and industrial manufacturing will provide valuable insight.
A poster competition will showcase innovative sensing techniques in MIS, inviting submissions on tissue examination using soft sensors. The workshop will foster multidisciplinary collaboration between surgeons and engineers, advancing soft tissue diagnostics and shaping the future of robotic MIS. This event builds on the Hamlyn 2024 workshop, “From Virtual Palpation to Clinical Integration: Exploring the Role of Touch in Medicine and Surgery.”

Programme

The programme will be published in May.

Learning Outcomes

• Participants will learn about the recent advances and future steps of tactile and force sensor applications in MIS, with a particular focus on soft palpation devices.
• Structured talks by leading researchers and surgeons will provide an in-depth understanding of the state of the art and efforts to address key challenges.
• An expert-led roundtable discussion on the current challenges and future goals in robotic MIS, particularly in tissue palpation will provide valuable insight. Participants will be invited to share their own perspectives thus stimulating reflection and peer learning about challenges in the field.
• Commercial experts, including representatives from Medtronic, will present and analyze trends in the medical device market.
• Different aspects of the research and development of sensors for MIS will be investigated, highlighting the need for sensing devices that can be reusable to support a circular and sustainable economy, while discussing the reasons why this pursuit is not always achievable.
• In the poster competition the authors will make short presentations of their work. The posters will be evaluated by an expert panel consisting of surgeons as well as robotics engineers with an academic and industrial background, receiving valuable feedback.