非接触硬さセンサの内視鏡外科手術における応用

Non-contact stiffness sensor for laparoscopic surgery

◆要旨：内視鏡外科手術では，患者への侵襲性が低減できる反面，術者にとっては視覚や触覚の問題が生じるために求められる技術の敷居が高くなってしまう．本稿では，特に臨床における触覚の問題に対応するために筆者らが取り組んでいる“非接触硬さセンサ”の概要について述べる．機械的な接触を一切伴わない“非接触硬さセンサ”の利点について述べた後，胸腔鏡外科手術の腫瘍探索に応用した例について紹介する．臓器表面を伝達する波の速度差に着目した測定原理に基づいて開発したセンサシステムを示し，摘出肺を用いた実験結果において開発デバイスが良好に動作することを示す．

　Endoscopic surgery, compared to open surgery, has the advantage of minimal surgical scar, thus reducing the damage to the patients.

　On the other hand, by using endoscope and forceps, surgeons cannot directly touch the lesion or the organs, thus, visual and tactile sensations become serious problems. To solve these problems, we have proposed a sensor device based on non-contact stiffness sensing. In this report, the advantages of non-contact approach are described, followed by video-assisted thoracic surgery cases using the developed non-contact stiffness sensor device.

　The developed sensor is based on the phase differential technique, and it comprises an air supply system and an optical fiber-based distance sensor adjacent to the air nozzle. Removed human lung was used to assess the performance of the developed sensor.