Surgeons Get a Helping Mechanical Hand

A three-fingered steel hand for grasping organs has been developed to assist surgeons performing minimally invasive procedures.

Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan) devised two types of mechanical hands with detachable fingers that can be assembled in the abdominal cavity, each of whose parts can be inserted through a trocar. The steel hand is only assembled after its component parts have been inserted. The biggest component, a hollow "arm” 30 cm-long and 16 mm in diameter, is inserted first through one of the incisions. The surgeons then pass the 5-cm-long "fingers” partway through a nearby keyhole incision and snap them into place on the arm.

The three fingers of one of the arms are dependently driven, while those of the other are independently driven. The power to each hand is transmitted from the operator's hand to its fingers by connecting wires through a ball and socket mechanism. Experimental results have verified that both hands can grasp and push aside large and oily objects such as the spleen, pancreas, and liver. The two devices were unveiled at the 2007 International Conference on Robotics and Automation, held during April 2007 in Rome (Italy).

"In laparoscopic surgery, surgeons can use only rod-shaped instruments that can be inserted through a trocar and therefore high technique is required,” said lead investigator Dr. Toshio Takayama. "Small grippers of forceps are inadequate to grasp, manipulate, or push aside large internal organs. So we propose mechanical hands with detachable fingers that can be assembled in the abdominal cavity.”


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Tokyo Institute of Technology