Low-friction surgical grasper

The low-friction surgical grasper is an instrument that aims to provide surgeons with good haptic feedback during minimally invasive surgery.

Impact

Societal: In minimally invasive surgery, a surgeon operates through small incisions. This leads to smaller scars, less trauma, faster recovery, and a lower risk of infection for patients, among other things. Instruments that improve "tissue sensation" during surgery reduce the risk of unnecessary tissue damage.
Economic: When surgeons get good haptic feedback (the "feel in the fingers") from an instrument during surgery, it reduces surgery time and increases the safety and quality of the intervention. In addition, the low-friction surgical grasper is easy to clean, reducing cleaning costs and infection risks.
Scientific: Studies have been set up to test the first balanced compliant graspers in an in vitro environment and laparoscopic box trainers. Results show that increased sensation leads to lower pinch forces during the manipulation of tissue-like structures.

Project

A consortium of companies and knowledge institutions started a development project in the Living Lab Medical Delta Instruments. The project is now being further implemented in cooperation with REON in Iceland within the 'Sensing in Surgery' project Netherlands. The goal is to overcome the last technological limitations to achieve a functioning in-patient prototype.

Project size (€ and grants)

> € 200k

Partners

Companies: REON, Tulipa Medical Technology, Sensing in Surgery;
healthcare institutions: LUMC, Spijkenisse MC;
knowledge partner: TU Delft