Feasibility analysis of a pressure sensitive rubber - based tactile sensor

In order to ensure the safety of the MIS (minimally invasive surgery), the pressure sensitive rubber has been proposed to be used in robotic catheter system as the tactile sensor. The contact force between the catheter and the blood vessel wall can be obtained precisely in this way. However, the structure of the blood vessel wall is thin film. Whether the vascular wall will be damaged or not is related to the contact force and the contact area. In this paper, the research of the piezoresistive characteristics of the carbon black filled pressure-sensitive conductive composite material have been carried out, and the relationship between the resistance and the contact area is deduced. Then experiments are designed to draw the relationship curve of the resistance and the contact area. A two-dimensional calibration curve is obtained utilizing the calibration system. Meanwhile, the experimental results indicate that the pressure sensitive rubber can be effectively used as the tactile sensor in robotic catheter system.