Instrument trains surgeons to perform keyhole surgery

An exploratory operation – known as a laparoscopy when carried out in the abdominal cavity – is generally less invasive for the patient.

However, problems with keyhole surgery partly arise because it is very difficult to gauge the force of the surgeon’s grasp. The surgeon is therefore less able to determine whether he or she is grasping the tissue too hard or too gently.

Westebring has developed a working prototype of a laparoscopic grasp instrument that gives augmented feedback on the amount of grasp force being applied.

‘There are sensors in the tip of the instrument that measure how hard the surgeon is grasping,’ said Westebring. ‘This information is fed back to the handle, which contains a cylinder that can turn in relation to the hand, as if something is falling out of your hand. In this way, the cylinder indicates that the surgeon has too little grip, and is therefore grasping too gently.