An active handheld device for compensation of physiological tremor using an ionic polymer metallic composite actuator

Involuntary motions of the hand can have a significant deteriorating effect on the performance of microsurgical procedures such as vitreoretinal microsurgery. The most common source of the involuntary motions is physiological tremor. Real-time compensation of physiological tremor is therefore necessary to assist surgeons to accurately perform a microsurgery. A novel approach based on the use of Ionic Polymer Metallic Composites (IPMCs) has been developed for actively compensating physiological tremor in the hand. We present the design of our novel handheld device that compensates for tremor using an IPMC-based actuator. We then experimentally evaluate the device to show the amount of compensation achieved.