A Ring-Type Tactile Display with a Compact Pneumatic Drive Unit for a Laparoscopic Palpation System

Abstract

In this paper, we present a ring-type pneumatic tactile display for a laparoscopic palpation system that aims at intraoperative tumor detection. The display presents a pressure to the finger pad through a silicone rubber membrane, which is attached on the inner lower of the ring-type body. It has high applicability to surgical situations because it is lightweight, low-cost, disposable and sterilizable. We also developed a compact pneumatic drive unit that consists of a diaphragm pump and a voice coil motor and investigated pressure responses.