川村 和也

<p>The watchband-type device shaped like an index finger and thumb was proposed. The bands can bend like a finger grasping motion by feeding air into inside of the band. Therefore, these finger-like bands are able to provide pressure on prosthesis user's intact wrist by wrapping around the wrist with a force proportional to the hand prosthesis grasping power. In this way, the proposed device can intuitively convey the prosthesis grasping force to the user. The band was made from thermoplastic copolyester elastomer using a three-dimensional printer. The pressing forces and motion of the prototype were investigated experimentally. The results show that the device achieved sufficient bending angle for the wrist wrapping and had linear relationship between pressing force and air pressure.</p>

<p>This paper presents a novel evaluation method for an intuitive operability of master-slave surgical robot. Surgical robot is controlled to match the posture of the arm tip between master-slave, however, it's impossible to match the posture because strict sensing is difficult and the error accumulates during manipulation. The objective is to validate the change of the brain activation against the change of error of posture in the arm tip. In experiment, participants controlled the virtual master-slave simulation. As a result, the brain activity decreased when the error of posture in the arm tip increased. The paper concluded that the 30° would be the acceptable error because when the error was smaller than 30° , the brain activated same as he relaxed.</p>

This Paper presents a novel evaluation method by measuring user's brain wave. In the experiment, we measured the user's brain wave when the user controlled the virtual arm with each easy and difficult position to control. As a result, the spectrum of the brain wave increased at easy position more than difficult position (t=1.681, df=7, p<0.1). We conclude that the brain wave changed as the user perceives that the virtual arm belongs to the user's body.

【背景・目的】腹腔鏡下手術における操作性に内視鏡の位置と運動は大きく関与すると考えられる.本研究では従来のスコピストによるカメラ操作に代わる,固定広角カメラを利用した術野自動提示システムの開発を行った.【手法】広角画像における鉗子先端を画像処理によって自動検出し,挿入された二本の鉗子先端の中心がその時刻における術者の関心領域であるという仮定の下にその領域を術者に提示した.【結果】自動検出は誤差約11pixelsで行われた.また,評価実験から提案システムがスコピストによる内視鏡操作と同等の操作性を実現することが示唆された.【結語】提案手法によって内視鏡画像中からの鉗子先端の自動検出が可能であり,提案システムは術者に至適な画像を提示できると考えられた.

前立腺癌治療後の患者のQOL維持のため,癌部位の局所的治療を目的とした詳細な癌部位の検出手法が求められている.本研究では,超音波画像診断法の精度の向上を目的として前立腺組織の癌組織を含む前立腺組織切片から,病理診断を元に癌部と非癌部を抽出し,超音波顕微鏡を用いて各部位の細胞レベルでの音響特性を計測した.癌組織と正常組織には,組織内の音速および減衰特性に統計的に有意差が認められ,超音波画像診断法における前立腺癌の精密な検出の可能性が示唆された.

This Paper presents a novel evaluation method for surgical robotics operation by analyzing user's brain activity. In this paper, the objective is to validate that the intraparietal sulcus which is the brain area activated significantly according to the change of the intuitive operability. In experiment, we measured the user's brain activity on the intraparietal sulcus by f-NIRS as the user controlled the virtual arm. The experiment was carried out with a variety of the kinematic position of virtual arm. As a result, the oxygenated hemoglobin activated significantly when the kinematics between master and slave is correspondent. We conclude that the oxygenated hemoglobin changed as the user perceives that the virtual arm belongs to the user's body.

This Paper presents a novel evaluation method for surgical robotics operation by analyzing user's brain activity. In this paper, we evaluated the operability as how strongly the user perceives that the robot belongs to the user's body. In experiment, we measured the user's brain activity on the intraparietal sulcus by f-NIRS as the user controlled the virtual arm. As a result, the oxygenated hemoglobin is significantly close to the sum of sin wave. We conclude that the oxygenated hemoglobin changed as the user perceives that the virtual arm belongs to the user's body.

Learning is essential for human being. In this article, we analyzed the human learning strategy in the multi-movement discrimination by learning machine. Especially, the leg movements' discrimination using Self Organizing Mapping was taken as an example. Firstly, based on the experiment by ten healthy subjects, learning strategies were divided into two strategies; Convergence strategy (improving the repeatability of each movement) and Independence strategy (conducting different movements). Secondly, a child with severe impairment conducted similar experiments. He selected Convergence strategy and his index values to evaluate the degree of convergence and independence of his leg's movements were quite similar with healthy subjects' value. The generality of Convergence and Independence strategies was suggested in multi-movement discrimination task.

Surgical robot needs the intuitive operability. However conventional method cannot evaluate user inter-operability. We propose the evaluation method using brain activity measurement to design the robot which perceive user to be part of user's own body. In this paper, the objective is to clarify the master configuration against the monitor that facilitates users to perceive the manipulator as part of their own body. We assume that the master configuration produces the immersive reality of the user putting his own arm into the monitor. In our experiments, as subjects controlled the virtual slave manipulator on the target in a surgical simulator, we measured brain activity through brain-imaging devices. We carried out our experiments a number of times with the master manipulator configured in a variety of ways with the position of the monitor fixed. In all subjects, we found that the brain was activated significantly when the master manipulator was located behind the monitor. We conclude that the master configuration produces immersive reality through body image.

Recently, small incision pediatric surgeries have been widely performed due to their minimally invasiveness. However, they make it difficult for surgeons to manipulate surgical tools. Robotic assist is required to reduce the workload for surgeons. Single port endoscopic surgery (SPS) assist robot we have developed is important option for it. It enables surgeons to perform precise operation using its tool manipulators. However, the operative field of a child is so tight that manipulators are limited for range of movement and hide working area from their view. We proposed the compensation method that complements the view by superimposing the image taken with added endoscope on forceps region of view. This paper presents a basic evaluation for validity of proposal method. In the experiment, delay time and resultant error of complemented image satisfied requirement specifications. In addition, we heard views of a pediatric surgeon on it.

Recently, robotic systems assisting single port endoscopic surgery (SPS) was developed. Our laboratory also developed a SPS assisting robot. It enables surgeons to manipulate position and posture of the endoscope. Joystick and foot switches are used to manipulate endoscope, however, this system is not suitable for manipulating endoscope and operability of endoscope is bad. It's because manipulating posture is rare in robotic surgery and not discussed the way of manipulating posture. This paper presents a basic evaluation of operability about manipulating position and posture of endoscope. In the experiment, we evaluate operability of position and posture independently.

In this study, to improve accuracy and reproducibility of knee laxity diagnosis, Orthopaedic physical examination assisting system was developed. The system enables the surgeon to monitor the force vector added by himself and the posture of the knee in real-time. The advantage of the developed system is to quantify the normal orthopaedic physical examination, without any modification, which is accustomed to general orthopaedic surgeons. The force vector added to the shank by a surgeon is measured with 3 axis force sensor and 6DOF magnetic tracker FASTRAK, and 6DOF knee joint motion of the patient is measured with two FASTRAK receivers which are attached on its thigh and shank. In this system, to describe the 6DOF knee motion, Femoral and tibial coordinate systems are defined with bony landmark which is easily palpated and are registered to the thigh or shank receiver coordinate system by homogeneous transformation matrix which is acquired by the special stylus. To evaluate the effectiveness of the system, the posterior drawer test with the system was done by 5 young healthy people. The evaluation parameters were knee posture, load magnitude and load position during the experiment. The result showed examination accuracy was significantly improved in all evaluation parameters.

Patients with diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) need to improve their thorax mobility. Thoracic excursion is one of the simplest and most useful indexes to evaluate the respiratory function. In this paper, we have proposed the prototype of a simple thoracic excursion measurement system with real-time visual bio-feedback in the chest expansion test. In this system, the thoracic excursion is measured using a wire-type linear encoder whose wire is wrapped around the thorax. The developed system was used by more than twenty patients such as patient with COPD. According to the questioner to the rehabilitation doctor and physical therapist, the immediately effect was confirmed by using the real-time bio-feedback of measured chest circumstance.