• CN: 11-2187/TH
  • ISSN: 0577-6686

Journal of Mechanical Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 62 ›› Issue (9): 352-360.doi: 10.3901/JME.260427

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Design of Minimally Invasive Medical Surgical Forceps with Displacement-force Bimodal Feedback

XIONG Pengwen1,2, WU Ranhao1,2, ZHANG Yu1,2, XU Jianning1,2, ZENG Cheng1,2, SONG Aiguo3   

  1. 1. School of Advanced Manufacturing, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031;
    2. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robot, Nanchang 330031;
    3. School of Instrument Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096
  • Received:2025-05-06 Revised:2025-12-20 Published:2026-07-08

Abstract: Traditional minimally invasive medical surgical forceps lack tactile feedback during tool-tissue interaction and cannot accurately position tissue. To enhance the perception of clamping force and tissue characteristics in minimally invasive surgery, as well as to improve the precision and stability of surgical operations, this study presents a novel design for minimally invasive surgical forceps featuring displacement-force bimodal feedback. In contrast to conventional instruments, the proposed forceps enable accurate measurement of both the clamping force and the jaw opening angle during operation. The system integrates two fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors: FBG1 attaches along the centerline on the back of the plier head under pre-tension to capture force-tactile data, while FBG2 mounts on the M-shaped elastic beam located at the bottom of the plier body to monitor angular displacement. The design undergoes structural optimization through hydrostatic analysis to enhance FBG sensitivity. A dedicated experimental platform supports static calibration, tissue block volume identification, and hardness recognition tests. Results demonstrate the device’s ability to distinguish tissue blocks with varying volumes and stiffness within biological samples. In terms of performance, FBG1 achieves an average sensitivity of 32.03 pm/N with a linearity of 0.998 across the 1-10 N load range. FBG2 delivers an average sensitivity of 5.66 pm/(°) and maintains the same linearity over the 0-60° jaw angle range.

Key words: minimally invasive surgery, displacement-force bimodal feedback, fiber Bragg grating, volumetric identification, hardness recognition

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