Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2011 Sep;58(9):2694-703. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2011.2162064. Epub 2011 Jul 14.
Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) provides high-resolution in vivo imaging for intraoperative tissue characterization. Maintaining a desired contact force between target tissue and the pCLE probe is important for image consistency, allowing large area surveillance to be performed. A hand-held instrument that can provide a predetermined contact force to obtain consistent images has been developed. The main components of the instrument include a linear voice coil actuator, a donut load-cell, and a pCLE probe. In this paper, detailed mechanical design of the instrument is presented and system level modeling of closed-loop force control of the actuator is provided. The performance of the instrument has been evaluated in bench tests as well as in hand-held experiments. Results demonstrate that the instrument ensures a consistent predetermined contact force between pCLE probe tip and tissue. Furthermore, it compensates for both simulated physiological movement of the tissue and involuntary movements of the operator's hand. Using pCLE video feature tracking of large colonic crypts within the mucosal surface, the steadiness of the tissue images obtained using the instrument force control is demonstrated by confirming minimal crypt translation.
基于探头的共聚焦激光显微内镜（pCLE）可提供用于术中组织特征分析的高分辨率体内成像。为了保持探头与目标组织之间的期望接触力，以实现图像的一致性，需要进行大面积的监测。已开发出一种可提供预定接触力以获得一致图像的手持仪器。该仪器的主要组件包括线性音圈执行器、环形负载单元和 pCLE 探头。本文介绍了仪器的详细机械设计，并提供了执行器闭环力控制的系统级建模。仪器的性能已在台架测试和手持实验中进行了评估。结果表明，该仪器可确保 pCLE 探头尖端与组织之间保持一致的预定接触力。此外，它还能补偿组织的模拟生理运动和操作人员手部的不自主运动。通过 pCLE 视频对黏膜表面内的大肠隐窝进行特征跟踪，通过确认隐窝的微小平移，证实了使用仪器力控制获得的组织图像的稳定性。
