A Comparison of Pinch Force between Finger and Palm Grasp techniques in Laparoscopic Grasping

Susmitha Wils K, George Mathew, M. Manivannan, Suresh R Devasahayam

Department of Applied Mechanics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India.
Department of Bioengineering, Christian Medical College Vellore, India.
Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, IndiaDepartment of Bioengineering, Christian Medical College Vellore, India.
Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Pelita Harapan, Indonesia.

DOI: 10.4236/eng.2012.410B012                

Abstract

Laparoscopic surgery is a new abdominal surgical procedure which helps the patients in many ways like less hospital stay, faster recovery and reduced pain. The main disadvantage in this surgical procedure is the reduced haptic perception by the surgeons due to the usage of laparoscopic instrument to handle tissues which in turn cause damage of it as compared to an open surgery. The primary aim of this investigation was to compare the pinch force applied during two different methods of laparoscopic grasping: Finger and Palm grasp. A low cost force sensing resistor tailor made for the grasper tip was designed and fabricated for quantifying the grasper tip force in the study. The results indicate more pinch force was applied during palm grasp as compared to finger grasp so as to prevent the slippage of the tissues from the jaws of the laparoscopic graspers.

Keywords

Pinch Force; Grasping; Laparoscopic Surgery; Force Sensing Resistor; Laparoscopic Grasper

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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