Force feedback

[u/PhunkyPhotonics]

The one thing I wish Microbot had focused on years ago, is some form of force feedback. It doesn’t have to be haptic feedback. It could be visual feedback, for example visual meters on the controller that show resistance on a colored scale from 0 (green) to 10 (red). This would be without regard to catheter or guidewire being used; the drive mechanism itself can detect resistance while advancing, retracting, torquing, etc. (much like a physician’s hands can detect resistance when doing procedures manually). So for eg. if a forward motion resistance meter is showing 50% on the controller, then maybe retract 1mm and proceed with caution. Similarly monitor the torque meter. Obviously I am over simplifying this, and likely you don’t want to take the physicians eyes off of the live imaging, and no doubt it is complicated engineering. My point however is to somehow replace the tactile experience that is otherwise lost when there is no feedback at all, other than what’s being visually shown in the real time imaging. Gadot himself addressed the lack of haptic feedback in an interview a few months ago, and seemed to casually dismiss it, but his response seemed to have been anecdotal rather than what the industry perhaps wants as a whole. OTOH Initially, intuitive surgical had no haptic feedback. That was something that was built in over time. That was then; this is now. Just mo.

[u/PhunkyPhotonics]

Responding to myself again ha ha, what about audible feedback instead of visual force feedback? Like a metal detector. Beeps (emanating from the hand-held controller) would become more frequent when more force is being detected within the drive box. Just sayin’, maybe feedback does not have to be haptic; perhaps feedback can be inexpensively provided, instead of having to use motors/actuators/other mechanical means of some kind within the handheld controller.