New robotic finger boosts early cancer detection, less uncomfortable exams

Researchers in China have created a soft robotic finger with advanced tactile abilities.

A team at the University of Science and Technology of China claims their bio-inspired soft finger (BSF) can perform routine medical exams, such as measuring pulse and detecting abnormal lumps.

The technology could improve early detection of diseases like breast cancer, making treatment more effective. Additionally, it may offer a more comfortable and less invasive experience for patients during physical exams.

“By further development to improve its efficiency, we also believe that a dexterous hand made of such fingers can act as a ‘Robodoctor’ in a future hospital, like a physician,” said Hongbo Wang, a sensing technologies researcher at the University and an author of the study, in a statement.

Touch-sensitive robotics

Human hands are not only used for grasping objects but also for feeling and interacting with the world.

They excel at delicate tasks through sensory feedback. Doctors often use palpation, the act of feeling with hands, to detect early signs of diseases like cancer and aneurysms.

However, not all patients are comfortable with physical exams, especially from doctors of the opposite gender.

Though progress has been made, robotic hands remain less dexterous and sensitive than human hands. Soft robotic fingers, used in robotic palpation, are gaining attention for their ability to detect abnormalities safely.

According to the team, these adaptable and cost-effective systems hold promise but still face challenges in replicating the full range of human hand capabilities. Current research is focused on enhancing tactile and proprioceptive sensing to make these robotic tools more reliable for medical use.

“Despite the remarkable progress in the last decade, most soft fingers presented in the literature still have substantial gaps compared to human hands,” said the study authors.

The researchers overcame this obstacle by creating a straightforward gadget with two conductive fiber coil components: a twisted liquid metal fiber placed at the fingertip and a coil wound on each air chamber of the device’s bending actuators, which allow it to move.

Sensor-driven dexterity

The scientists discovered that they could track, in real-time, the force at the fingertip and the amount of bending the finger takes as it contacts an object by monitoring characteristics that influence the electrical current flowing through the device.

According to the team, this approach would allow the device to discern an object’s qualities as efficiently as human touch. The researchers first brushed a feather against the device’s fingertip to test it.

“The magnified view clearly shows the resistance change, indicating its high sensitivity in force sensing,” said the study authors.

They then repeatedly bent the finger and pressed and pushed the fingertip with a glass rod, noting that the device’s sensors correctly detected the kind and amount of force they applied.

To evaluate the finger’s medical prowess, they put it on a robotic arm and observed as it recognized three lumps implanted in a sizable silicone sheet and applied pressure on them like a physician. The finger on the robotic arm was able to take a participant’s pulse and accurately identify an artery on their wrist.

“Humans can easily recognize the stiffness of diverse objects by simply pressing it with their finger. Similarly, since the [device] has the ability to sense both its bending deformation and the force at the fingertip, it can detect stiffness similar to our human hand by simply pressing an object,” the authors noted.

The researchers discovered that the robotic finger can mimic human hand movements, including typing the word “hello.” By integrating additional sensors to increase the flexibility of the finger’s joints, enabling movement in multiple directions similar to a human finger, they conclude that the device could soon be ready for effective and efficient medical examinations.

“We hope to develop an intelligent, dexterous hand , together with a sensorized artificial muscle-driven robotic arm, to mimic the unparalleled functions and fine manipulations of the human hands,” said Wang, in a statement .

The details of the team’s research were published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science .