A novel tactile softness display for minimally invasive surgery

• We describe a new tactile display that reproduces tactile feedback during MIS.
• Softness is regenerated based on mechanical properties and finger pad deformation.
• Non-linear mechanical behavior is simulated using force and displacement feedbacks.
• Mechanical and psychophysical experiments are conducted.
• Results show this display can closely regenerate the feeling of softness.

The use of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) in various types of surgical procedures has increased significantly in recent years. However, its scope is limited due mainly to the fact that this procedure does not currently provide tactile feedback without which the surgeon can neither feel nor palpate tissue. In this paper, we describe a new tactile display that reproduces these missing constituent properties of the tissue directly to the surgeon. The softness of different objects is regenerated based on the mechanical properties of those objects and fingertip pulp. The force–displacement non-linear behavior of several different materials is simulated using force feedback and a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller for the linear actuator. Experimental tests show that the proposed tactile display can closely regenerate the feeling of softness for different objects by rendering the force–displacement curve to the surgeon’s hand.