Instrument for compensating for hand tremor during the manipulation of fine structures

Abstract

An instrument for the manipulation of fine structures, said instrument detecting hand tremor and compensating for this hand tremor by effecting counter-movements of the working tip. The main area of application will probably lie in the field of microsurgery, since the operations performed in said field can be made difficult by the hand tremor of the operating surgeon. Here, the tremor is detected by movement sensors, by repeated analysis of the position of the handheld part (1) of the instrument, or by deriving electromyographic signals from the forearm of the operator. Intentional and unintentional movements are differentiated from one another on the basis of one or more criteria, such as movement amplitude, speed, frequency and direction. To compensate for undesired movements, signals are sent to an arrangement of actuators (3) which cause deflections of the movable part (4) of the instrument, which deflections at the tip of the instrument compensate for the hand tremor. When the instrument is used as a needle holder in surgery, the actuators (3) can also be controlled by push button in such a way that, by oscillations, they facilitate the penetration of the suture needle into the area being worked on.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.