Hiroyasu Funakubo

Development of a New Microsurgical Robot for Stereotactic Neurosurgery

The robot technology was introduced into a new stereotactic neurosurgery system for applications to biopsy, blind surgery, and functional neurosurgery. The authors have developed a newly designed prototype microsurgical robot, designed to allow a biopsy needle to reach the target such as a cerebral tumor within a brain automatically on the basis of the X, Y, and Z coordinates obtained by CT scanner. This robot is so small that it can be driven in a CT scanner gantry. It consists mainly of the link mechanism and the insertion mechanism. We constructed the link mechanism and investigated its working space.

An inexpensive light source and detector module for fibre-optic measurements

This paper deals with the question of whether an inexpensive optical sensor head, a so-called CD pick-up, from a compact disc player system can be used for simultaneously directing light into and detecting light received from an optical fibre. The investigation shows that the CD pick-up is well suited for intensity-based fibre-optic sensors. The benefit of using a CD sensor head is that it is a small-sized module including a diode laser, driver, detector, signal conditioning and lens system. Furthermore, the study shows that the CD pick-up may be used for fibre-optic interferometry as well.

An optical fibre sensor for use in a tissue cutting tool

This pre-study investigates a fibre optic alternative to more conventional sensors for measuring force indirectly as bending or deflection in a medical robotic application. The paper discusses problems regarding the integration of fibre optics into a cutting tool for the removal of prostate gland tissue. The aim is to integrate the sensor in a tube rod with an inner diameter of 0.6 mm and use it as a force feedback sensor for the control system of the robot. The paper proposes and evaluates an inexpensive opto-mechatronic device for launching light into and detecting light received from an optical fibre. A simple sensor prototype is constructed to show the feasibility to use a fibre optic sensor for the prostate gland cutting tool.

Development of the system to teach the bedsore prevention method for wheelchair users

In this study, we are developing the system to teach bedsores prevention method for wheelchair users. This system can measure the distribution of pressure by the sensor sheet when a wheelchair user sits on it, and show the measured result on the monitor by the color image. Therefore, wheelchair users are able to learn the bedsores prevention method under recognizing their distributions of pressure with the therapist. We measured pressure distribution and got differences between SCI people and AB people using this system, and we confirmed that it is important to measure pressure distributions and this system is useful to use when therapist teach the bedsore prevention method to wheelchair users.