Flexible Surgical Tools and Shape Sensing

Minimally invasive surgery is performed through small incisions, which can reduce tissue damage and recovery time. However, conventional rigid instruments may have difficulty reaching anatomical structures located around curves or within confined spaces.

Our research develops flexible surgical instruments and snake-like robotic manipulators that can navigate these complex pathways. Their flexibility provides greater maneuverability, but it also creates an important challenge: surgeons and robotic control systems must know the instrument’s shape and location as it moves inside the body.

Through a series of NIH-funded projects, our researchers are designing flexible tools and developing sensing methods that can monitor and help control their shape in real time. The goal is to improve the precision, predictability, and safety of flexible instruments in surgical environments and expand the range of procedures that can be performed through minimally invasive approaches.