Robotically assisted electrical bio-impedance measurements for soft tissue characterization: a feasibility study

Abstract

In this study we present the application of a compact electric bio-impedance (EBI) measurement device that can be integrated into existing surgical instruments. We propose a robotically assisted EBI acquisition system (REAS) to obtain stable EBI measurements of soft tissue in a user-defined region. The proposed system adds an additional sensing modality to robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery. We demonstrate the feasibility of the REAS in an ex-vivo experiment using the da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK). The results confirm the capabilities of the proposed method of performing robust EBI data acquisition.