Computational optical palpation: A finite-element approach to micro-scale tactile imaging using a compliant sensor

Philip Wijesinghe*, David D. Sampson, Brendan F. Kennedy

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

High-resolution tactile imaging, superior to the sense of touch, has potential for future biomedical applications such as robotic surgery. In this paper, we propose a tactile imaging method, termed computational optical palpation, based on measuring the change in thickness of a thin, compliant layer with optical coherence tomography and calculating tactile stress using finite-element analysis. We demonstrate our method on test targets and on freshly excised human breast fibroadenoma, demonstrating a resolution of up to 15–25 µm and a field of view of up to 7 mm. Our method is open source and readily adaptable to other imaging modalities, such as ultrasonography and confocal microscopy.

Original languageEnglish
Article number20160878
JournalJournal of the Royal Society Interface
Volume14
Issue number128
Early online date1 Mar 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Mar 2017

Keywords

  • Elastography
  • Finite-element analysis
  • Optical coherence tomography
  • Tactile imaging

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