Within the MURAB/SUNRAM projects, multiple MRI robots are being developed. Compared to traditional procedures, their main disadvantage is the lack of tactile feedback. Surgeons can feel when a needle passes through skin or tumour tissue. Current robotic systems lack this feedback. Since they operate in MRI environments, they cannot use traditional sensors, which carry ferromagnetic materials.
This project aims to develop sensors that can operate safely within the MRI environment (without using ferromagnetic materials) to measure forces. The focus will be on capturing linear forces along the needle as well as torques on the joints. This should also be indicated to the operator in an intuitive manner.
The goal is to design a modular sensor that can be integrated into various MRI-robotics, providing force and torque feedback to the operator.