Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery has many advantages compared to conventional open surgery and also certain drawbacks: it causes less operative trauma and faster recovery times but does not allow for direct tumour palpation as is the case in open surgery. This article reviews state-of-the-art intra-operative tumour localisation methods used in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery and in particular methods that employ force-based sensing, tactile-based sensing, and medical imaging techniques. The limitations and challenges of these methods are discussed and future research directions are proposed.
BicchiACanepaGde RossiD. A sensor-based minimally invasive surgery tool for detecting tissue elastic properties. In: Proceedings of the 1996 IEEE international conference on robotics and automation, Minneapolis, MN, 22–28 April 1996, pp.884–888. New York: IEEE.
ZehnderPGillIS. Cost-effectiveness of open versus laparoscopic versus robotic-assisted laparoscopic cystectomy and urinary diversion. Curr Opin Urol2011; 21(5): 415–419, http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MOU.0b013e3283490582
6.
CurrieMERomsaJFoxSA. Long-term angiographic follow-up of robotic-assisted coronary artery revascularization. Ann Thorac Surg2012; 93(5): 1426–1431, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22342992
BrownJDRosenJKimYS. In-vivo and in-situ compressive properties of porcine abdominal soft tissues. Stud Health Technol Inform2003; 94: 26–32, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15455858
12.
LiuHNoonanDPChallacombeBJ. Rolling mechanical imaging for tissue abnormality localization during minimally invasive surgery. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng2010; 57(2): 404–414, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19789104
TavakoliMAziminejadAPatelRV. Methods and mechanisms for contact feedback in a robot-assisted minimally invasive environment. Surg Endosc2006; 20(10): 1570–1579, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16897288 (accessed 25 September 2011).
TrejosALPatelRVNaishMD. Force sensing and its application in minimally invasive surgery and therapy: a survey. Proc IMechE, Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science2010; 224(7): 1435–1454, http://pic.sagepub.com/lookup/doi/10.1243/09544062JMES1917 (accessed 23 November 2011).
26.
YamamotoTVagvolgyiBBalajiK. Tissue property estimation and graphical display for teleoperated robot-assisted surgery. In: Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE international conference on robotics and automation, May 2009, pp.4239–4245, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=5152674
27.
SamurESedefMBasdoganC. A robotic indenter for minimally invasive measurement and characterization of soft tissue response. Med Image Anal2007; 11(4): 361–373, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17509927 (accessed 29 August 2011).
28.
SangpraditKLiuHDasguptaP. Finite-element modeling of soft tissue rolling indentation. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng2011; 58(12): 3319–3327, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21257372
29.
SargeantRLiuHAlthoeferK. An MRI compatible optical multi-axis force/torque sensors robotic surgery. In: Proceedings of the Hamlyn symposium on medical robotics, London, 1–2 July 2012, pp.79–80.
30.
KaradoganEWilliamsRLHowellJN. A stiffness discrimination experiment including analysis of palpation forces and velocities. Simul Healthc2010; 5(5): 279–288, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21330810 (accessed 2 December 2011).
BeccaniMDi NataliCRentschlerME. Wireless tissue palpation: proof of concept for a single degree of freedom. In: Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE international conference on robotics and automation, Karlsruhe, 6–10 May 2013, pp.711–717. New York: IEEE.
33.
GwilliamJCMahvashMVagvolgyiB. Effects of haptic and graphical force feedback on teleoperated palpation. In: Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE international conference on robotics and automation, May 2009, pp.677–682, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=5152705
34.
SargeantR. An investigation of the use of linear polarizers to measure force and torque in optical 6-DOF force/torque sensors for dexterous manipulators. In: Proceedings of the IEEE international conference on robotics and automation, 2012, pp.1422–1427, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=6225067 (accessed 13 September 2012).
YamamotoTAbolhassaniN. Augmented reality and haptic interfaces for robot-assisted surgery. Int J Med Robot Comput Assist Surg2012; 8: 45–56, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rcs.421/full (accessed 25 July 2013).
HamamotoK. Investigation on virtual palpation system using ultrasonic elasticity imaging. In: Proceedings of the 28th IEEE EMBS annual international conference, 2006, pp.4873–4876, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17946267
39.
LiuHLiJPoonQ. Miniaturized force-indentation depth sensor for tissue abnormality identification during laparoscopic surgery. In: Proceedings of the international conference on robotics and automation (ICRA), 2010, pp.3654–3659, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5509440 (accessed 22 January 2013).
40.
NoonanDPLiuHZweiriYH. A dual-function wheeled probe for tissue viscoelastic property identification during minimally invasive surgery. In: Proceedings of the IEEE international conference on robotics and automation, 2007, pp.2629–2634. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ROBOT.2007.363862
LiuHPuangmaliPZbyszewskiD. An indentation depth-force sensing wheeled probe for abnormality identification during minimally invasive surgery. Proc IMechE, Part H: J Engineering in Medicine2010; 224(6): 751–763, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20608492
43.
ZbyszewskiDChallacombeBJLiuH. Air-cushion force-sensitive probe for soft tissue investigation during minimally invasive surgery. J Endourol2009; 23(9): 1421–1424.
44.
WanninayakeIBAlthoeferKSeneviratneLD. Air-float stiffness probe for tissue abnormality identification in soft tissue palpation. In: Proceedings of the Hamlyn symposium on medical robotics, London, 1–2 July 2012, pp.52–53.
45.
WanninayakeIBDasguptaPSeneviratneLD. Air-float palpation probe for tissue abnormality identification during minimally invasive surgery. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. Epub ahead of print 20May2013, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23708764
46.
SangpraditKLiuHSeneviratneLD. Tissue identification using inverse finite element analysis of rolling indentation. In: Proceedings of the IEEE international conference on robotics and automation (ICRA), Kobe, Japan, 12–17 May 2009, pp.1250–1255. New York: IEEE.
47.
LiuHSangpraditKLiM. Inverse finite-element modeling for tissue parameter identification using a rolling indentation probe. Med Biol Eng Comput. Epub ahead of print 15September2013, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24037385 (accessed 30 October 2013).
48.
AhnBKimYKimJ. New approach for abnormal tissue localization with robotic palpation and mechanical property characterization. In: Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE/RSJ international conference on intelligent robots and systems, September 2011, pp.4516–4521, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=6094786
SchostekSHoC-NKalanovicD. Artificial tactile sensing in minimally invasive surgery: a new technical approach. Minim Invasive Ther Allied Technol2006; 15(5): 296–304, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17062404 (accessed 2 December 2011).
51.
NajarianSDargahiJZhengXZ. A novel method in measuring the stiffness of sensed objects with applications for biomedical robotic systems. Int J Med Robot Comput Assist Surg2006; 2: 84–90, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rcs.75/abstract (accessed 7 December 2011).
52.
DargahiJNajarianSRamezanifardR. de sensation Affichage graphique des donn ees la chirurgie tactiles avec application a minimalement invasive [Graphical display of tactile sensing data with application in minimally invasive surgery]. Can J Elect Comput E2007; 32(3): 151–155.
53.
EgorovVAyrapetyanSSarvazyanAP. Prostate mechanical imaging: 3-D image composition and feature calculations. IEEE Trans Med Imaging2006; 25(10): 1329–1340.
54.
EgorovVSarvazyanAP. Mechanical imaging of the breast. IEEE Trans Med Imaging2008; 27(9): 1275–1287.
55.
TrejosALJayenderJPerriMT. Experimental evaluation of robot-assisted tactile sensing for minimally invasive surgery. In: Proceedings of the 2008 2nd IEEE RAS EMBS international conference on biomedical robotics and biomechatronics, October 2008, pp.971–976, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=4762808
56.
PerriMTTrejosAL. New tactile sensing system for minimally invasive surgical tumour localization. Int J Med Robot2010; 6: 211–220.
57.
PerriMTrejosALNaishM. Initial evaluation of a tactile/kinesthetic force feedback system for minimally invasive tumor localization. IEEE/ASME Trans Mechatron2010; 15(6): 925–931, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5607308 (accessed 6 December 2011).
58.
MillerAPPeineWJSonJS. Tactile imaging system for localizing lung nodules during video assisted thoracoscopic surgery. In: Proceedings of the 2007 IEEE international conference on robotics and automation, April 2007, pp.2996–3001, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=4209545
59.
OttermoMVStavdahlØJohansenT. A remote palpation instrument for laparoscopic surgery: design and performance. Minim Invasive Ther Allied Technol2009; 18(5): 259–272, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19711224 (accessed 2 December 2011).
60.
KhaledWReichlingSBruhnsOT. Palpation imaging using a haptic system for virtual reality applications in medicine. Stud Health Technol Inform2004; 98: 147–153, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15544261
MansourNAEl-BabAMRFAbdellatifM. Design of a novel multi-modal tactile display device for biomedical applications. In: Proceedings of the IEEE RAS/EMBS international conference on biomedical robotics and biomechatronics, Rome, 24–27 June 2012, pp.183–188. New York: IEEE.
McMahanWRomanoJMAbdul RahumanAM. High frequency acceleration feedback significantly increases the realism of haptically rendered textured surfaces. In: Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE haptics symposium, March 2010, pp.141–148, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=5444665
GavrilovLRTsirulnikovEMDaviesIA. Application of focused ultrasound for the stimulation of neural structures. Ultrasound Med Biol1996; 22(2): 179–192.
72.
IwamotoTTatezonoMShinodaH. Non-contact method for producing tactile sensation using airborne ultrasound. EuroHaptics2008; 5024: 504–513.
73.
GotoMTakemuraK. Tactile bump display using electro-rheological fluid. In: Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE/RSJ international conference on intelligent robots and systems (IROS), Tokyo, Japan, 3–7 November 2013, pp.4478–4483. New York: IEEE.
74.
LiuAClearyKTendickF. A survey of surgical simulation: applications, technology, and education. Presence: Teleop Virt2003; 12(6): 599–614.
LiJZirjakovaJYaoW. A passive robotic platform for three-dimensional scanning of ex-vivo soft tissue. In: DaiJSZoppiMKongX (eds) Advances in reconfigurable mechanisms and robots. London: Springer, 2012, pp.477–485.
77.
CarterTJSermesantMCashDM. Application of soft tissue modelling to image-guided surgery. Med Eng Phys2005; 27(10): 893–909, http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/169703/
EllisMCHessmanCJWeerasingheR. Comparison of pulmonary nodule detection rates between preoperative CT imaging and intraoperative lung palpation. Am J Surg2011; 201(5): 619–622, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21545910
81.
GaoXNavkarNVShahDJ. Intraoperative registration of preoperative 4D cardiac anatomy with real-time MR images. In: Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE international conference on bioinformatics & bioengineering (BIBE), Larnaca, 11–13 November 2012, pp 11–13. New York: IEEE.
EliasJMauadFMMugliaVF. Intraoperative application of real-time tissue elastography for the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic tumours. In: Proceedings of the pan American health care exchanges (PAHCE), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 28 March–1 April 2011, pp.8–10. New York: IEEE.
MiyagawaTTsutsumiMMatsumuraT. Real-time elastography for the diagnosis of prostate cancer: evaluation of elastographic moving images. Jpn J Clin Oncol2009; 39(6): 394–398, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19359330 (accessed 13 February 2013).
88.
InoueYTakahashiMAritaJ. Intra-operative freehand real-time elastography for small focal liver lesions: ‘visual palpation’ for non-palpable tumors. Surgery2010; 148(5): 1000–1011, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20363009
89.
MisraSRameshKTOkamuraAM. Modeling of tool-tissue interactions for computer-based surgical simulation: a literature review. Presence (Camb)2008; 17(5): 463.
90.
BibinLAnatoleLBonnetM. SAILOR: a 3-D medical simulator of loco-regional anaesthesia based on desktop virtual reality and pseudo-haptic feedback. In: Proceedings of the ACM symposium on virtual reality software and technology (VRST), Bordeaux, 27–29 October 2008, pp.97–100. New York: ACM.
91.
BurkhardtJ-M. Feeling bumps and holes without a haptic interface: the perception of pseudo-haptic textures. In: Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI, 2004, pp.239–246, http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=985723 (accessed 7 December 2011).
92.
LécuyerABurkhardtJ-MTanC-H. A study of the modification of the speed and size of the cursor for simulating pseudo-haptic bumps and holes. ACM Trans Appl Percept2008; 5(3): 1–21, http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1402236.1402238 (accessed 19 September 2011).
93.
LiMLiuHSeneviratneLD. Tissue stiffness simulation and abnormality localization using pseudo-haptic feedback. In: Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE international conference on robotics and automation (ICRA), Saint Paul, MN, 14–18 May 2012, pp.5359–5364. New York: IEEE.
DinsmoreMLangranaNABurdeaG. Virtual reality training simulation for palpation of subsurface tumors. In: Proceedings of the IEEE virtual reality annual international symposium, 1997, pp.54–60. IEEE Computer Society, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=583044
96.
DaniulaitisVAlhalabiMO. Medical palpation of deformable tissue using physics-based model for haptic interface robot (HIRO). In: Proceedings of the information systems, Sendai, Japan, 28 September – 2 October 2004, pp.3907–3911.
97.
KawasakiHTakaiJTanakaY. Control of multi-fingered haptic interface opposite to human hand. In: Proceedings of the 2003 IEEE/RSJ international conference on intelligent robots and systems (IROS), 2003, pp.2707–2712. IEEE, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=1249279
98.
EndoTKawasakiHMouriT. Five-fingered haptic interface robot: HIRO III. In: Proceedings of the world haptics 2009, third joint EuroHaptics conference and symposium on haptic interfaces virtual environment and teleoperator systems, 2009, vol. 4, issue 1, pp.458–463, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=4810812
99.
IzadiSKimDHilligesO. KinectFusion: real-time 3D reconstruction and interaction using a moving depth camera. In: Proceedings of the ACM symposium on user interface software and technology (UIST), 2011, pp.559–568. ACM, http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2047270
