CHAPTER 16: A Novel Medical Haptic Device Using Magneto-rheological Fluid

This chapter introduces a novel haptic device for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) featuring a magneto-rheological (MR) fluid. It consists of three rotational and one translational motions. The rotational motions are constituted by two bi-directional magneto-rheological (BMR) brakes plus one conventional MR brake. For translational motion, a BMR linear actuator is adopted. The BMR brakesand linear actuator used in the system possess a salient advantage in that their ranges of braking torque and force vary from negative to positive values. Therefore, the devicesare expected to be able to sense in a wide environment from very soft tissues to bones in MIS. Overall of the design of the haptic master device is presented from idea, modelling, optimal design, manufacturing to control of the medical haptic device. Finally, several experiment are undertaken to validate the effectiveness of the device.