Concordia a pioneer in mechatronics
Imagine a gadget that not only provides images from inside a patient’s body during a major operation but can ‘feel’ its way to obtain the same tactile information as a surgeon’s hands.
This isn't science fiction. It’s the future of medicine, according to Javad Dargahi, a professor in Concordia’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. Dargahi and three colleagues have just published a book titled Mechatronics in Medicine: A Biomedical Engineering Approach as the first comprehensive overview of the field.
"Sensors, electronics, computers, feedback systems – applying this multidisciplinary approach is what mechatronics is all about," Dargahi says.
He is one of North America’s leading experts in a branch of mechatronics called haptic feedback. It involves collecting tactile information such as texture and hardness, and kinesthetic information about certain forces from the limbs, and then using this in carrying out complex surgical procedures. His work has received significant funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
He recently teamed up with Renzo Cecere, a surgeon at McGill University's Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, to explore surgical applications for haptic feedback.
They’ve started with the problem of mitral valve regurgitation – a common heart disorder that results from the mitral valve failing to properly close when pumping out blood. Open-heart bypass surgery is the usual repair but highly invasive.
Customary endoscopic surgery – using surgical instruments inserted into the body through "keyhole" incisions – would deny a surgeon the important tactile information received via the fingertips. So Dargahi has helped to devise and test sensors integrated into a catheter that can be inserted into a patient’s body.
The sensors relate information about the hardness and softness of tissues. The information helps a surgeon to determine where to place the anchor required for a complete mitral valve replacement. The sensors have so far proven successful in a simulated environment.
Mechatronics in Medicine provides numerous others examples from researchers. Kidney stones, for instance, are a fairly common medical problem. Surgeons typically have to open a patient to touch the kidney’s surface and use their fingers to feel their way towards the small crystalline substance that has to be removed. A less invasive procedure might soon be possible because of a group of mechatronics researchers. They have devised tactile-sensing technology that can locate a kidney stone and give a three-dimensional image of it on a computer screen.
Other potential applications include detecting breast cancer, examining the buildup of arterial plaque, and manufacturing an insole that can evaluate ankle sprains.
"Mechatronics will surely have a bright and highly influential future," the book's introductory chapter states. Patients worldwide will likely benefit long before mechatronics or haptic feedback become household terms.
Related links:
• Mechatronics in Medicine
• Javad Dargahi
• Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering