ESPRESS.0: Eustachian Tube-Inspired Tactile Sensor Exploiting Pneumatics for Range Extension and SenSitivity Tuning

Abstract

Optimising the sensitivity of a tactile sensor to a specific range of stimuli magnitude usually compromises the sensor’s widespread usage. This paper presents a novel soft tactile sensor capable of dynamically tuning its stiffness for enhanced sensitivity across a range of applied forces, taking inspiration from the Eustachian tube in the mammalian ear. The sensor exploits an adjustable pneumatic back pressure to control the effective stiffness of its 20 mm diameter elastomer interface. An internally translocated fluid is coupled to the membrane and optically tracked to measure physical interactions at the interface. The sensor can be actuated by pneumatic pressure to dynamically adjust its stiffness. It is demonstrated to detect forces as small as 0.012 N, and to be sensitive to a difference of 0.006 N in the force range of 35 to 40 N. The sensor is demonstrated to be capable of detecting tactile cues on the surface of objects in the sub-millimetre scale. It is able to adapt its compliance to increase its ability for distinguishing between stimuli with similar stiffnesses (0.181 N/mm difference) over a large range (0.1 to 1.1 N/mm) from only a 0.6 mm deep palpation. The sensor is intended to interact comfortably with skin, and the feasibility of its use in palpating tissue in search of hard inclusions is demonstrated by locating and estimating the size of a synthetic hard node embedded 20 mm deep in a soft silicone sample. The results suggest that the sensor is a good candidate for tactile tasks involving unpredictable or unknown stimuli.

Acceptability of Automated Robotic Clinical Breast Examination: Survey Study

“…The ARTEMIS R-CBE is currently in development (part of this system is described in the study by Jenkinson et al [ 31 ]); the responses relate to a theoretical service. Further research will be needed to establish the acceptability of the specific service among users as development continues, as well as an assessment of its cost and accuracy.…”

“…For example, most respondents (128/155, 82.6%) were willing to be examined for up to 15 minutes and were also willing to receive results directly from ARTEMIS (in some format) rather than from an HCP. Research suggests that it is feasible to create an automated R-CBE service based on these acceptability characteristics [29][30][31].…”

“…The platform could be used by women without direct clinical supervision (Figure 1). A prototype is currently in the early stages of development [29][30][31]. Although such a platform may be capable of effectively performing and interpreting CBE, the voices of potential users are essential in determining how this should be designed and implemented.…”

A robotIc Radial palpatIon mechaniSm for breast examination (IRIS)

“…IRIS was fitted with 20 mm silicone dome pads [8] to act as dummy tactile sensors while it 'palpated' the breast phantom. While no sensor data were gathered at this instance, this demonstration explored IRIS's ability to sufficiently cover a realistic topology.…”

“…IRIS uses a novel approach to achieve radial contraction and expansion, as well as control over the pitch of its tactile sensors at the contact region. IRIS is designed to fit an existing sensor that has been demonstrated to be highly sensitive within the 10 kPa target range [8], but may be easily adjusted to fit other sensors. The rest of the paper is structured as follows: Section II gives an overview of the design and mechanics of IRIS, Section III presents simulated and experimental tests to characterise and evaluate its functionality, and Section IV discusses potential applications and future work.…”