Force Sensor (force + sensor)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Design and characterization of a modified T-flask bioreactor for continuous monitoring of engineered tissue stiffness

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 3 2010
Richard A. Lasher
Abstract Controlling environmental conditions, such as mechanical stimuli, is critical for directing cells into functional tissue. This study reports on the development of a bioreactor capable of controlling the mechanical environment and continuously measuring force-displacement in engineered tissue. The bioreactor was built from off the shelf components, modified off the shelf components, and easily reproducible custom built parts to facilitate ease of setup, reproducibility and experimental flexibility. A T-flask was modified to allow for four tissue samples, mechanical actuation via a LabView controlled stepper motor and transduction of force from inside the T-flask to an external sensor. In vitro bench top testing with instrumentation springs and tissue culture experiments were performed to validate system performance. Force sensors were highly linear (R2 > 0.998) and able to maintain force readings for extended periods of time. Tissue culture experiments involved cyclic loading of polyurethane scaffolds seeded with and without (control) human foreskin fibroblasts for 8 h/day for 14 days. After supplementation with TGF-,, tissue constructs showed an increase in stiffness between consecutive days and from the acellular controls. These experiments confirmed the ability of the bioreactor to distinguish experimental groups and monitor tissue stiffness during tissue development. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2010 [source]


Position/Force Control of an Underwater Mobile Manipulator

JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS (FORMERLY JOURNAL OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS), Issue 12 2003
Lionel Lapierre
This paper proposes a new control method applied to an underwater vehicle equipped with a robot manipulator. This control method is based on force control to stabilize the platform when the manipulator works in free or constrained space. The torque produced by the arm on the platform is estimated with a force sensor installed between the base of the manipulator and the vehicle. This allows correcting the position errors of the platform using an external force control loop. This paper presents this control law and shows some simulation results. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Magnetic field exposure stiffens regenerating plant protoplast cell walls

BIOELECTROMAGNETICS, Issue 2 2006
Toshihiko Haneda
Abstract Single suspension-cultured plant cells (Catharanthus roseus) and their protoplasts were anchored to a glass plate and exposed to a magnetic field of 302,±,8 mT for several hours. Compression forces required to produce constant cell deformation were measured parallel to the magnetic field by means of a cantilever-type force sensor. Exposure of intact cells to the magnetic field did not result in any changes within experimental error, while exposure of regenerating protoplasts significantly increased the measured forces and stiffened regenerating protoplasts. The diameters of intact cells or regenerating protoplasts were not changed after exposure to the magnetic field. Measured forces for regenerating protoplasts with and without exposure to the magnetic field increased linearly with incubation time, with these forces being divided into components based on the elasticity of synthesized cell walls and cytoplasm. Cell wall synthesis was also measured using a cell wall-specific fluorescent dye, and no changes were noted after exposure to the magnetic field. Analysis suggested that exposure to the magnetic field roughly tripled the Young's modulus of the newly synthesized cell wall without any lag. Bioelectromagnetics 27:98,104, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Load force during manual transport in Parkinson's disease

ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 6 2004
X. Guo
Objectives , To search for a physiological method for the measurement of upper extremity dexterity during activities of daily life in Parkinson's disease (PD). Materials and methods , We examined load force output during manual transport in seven patients with PD and 10 healthy controls. PD patients were measured in both the non-medicated and medicated states. The test movement included two continuous sub-movements: an upward-forward transport of an object from the table to the stand, and a downward-backward transport of the object from the stand to the table. Hand movements were recorded using an optoelectronic camera, and load force was measured using a force sensor installed in the test object. Results , Compared with the controls, PD patients had a different pattern of load force output characterized by slower force development and release, lower peak force, and less dynamic force generation during movement. After medication, the speed of force development and the level of peak force increased in the patients. Conclusions , These findings suggest that PD impairs the production of preprogrammed movements. The movements observed in the PD patients may result from compensatory strategies relying more on feedback mechanisms. [source]


A Theoretical Description of Elastic Pillar Substrates in Biophysical Experiments

CHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 8 2005
Camilla Mohrdieck Dr.
Abstract Arrays of elastic pillars are used in biophysical experiments as sensors for traction forces. The evaluation of the forces can be complicated if they are coupled to the pillar displacements over large distances. This is the case if many of the pillars are interconnected by elastic linkages as, for example, in fiber networks that are grown on top of pillars. To calculate the traction forces in such a network, we developed a set of nonlinear inhomogeneous equations relating the forces in the linking elements to the resulting pillar deflections. We chose a homogeneous, activated two-dimensional network of cytoskeletal actin filaments to illustrate that a pillar substrate is generally not a force sensor but a force-gradient sensor. In homogeneous networks the forces acting along the filaments can be approximated by analyzing only pillar deflections in the edge zones of the substrate and by integration over the corresponding force gradients. [source]


Estimation of environmental force for the haptic interface of robotic surgery

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ROBOTICS AND COMPUTER ASSISTED SURGERY, Issue 2 2010
Hyoung Il Son
Abstract Background The success of a telerobotic surgery system with haptic feedback requires accurate force-tracking and position-tracking capacity of the slave robot. The two-channel force-position control architecture is widely used in teleoperation systems with haptic feedback for its better force-tracking characteristics and superior position-tracking capacity for the maximum stability margin. This control architecture, however, requires force sensors at the end-effector of the slave robot to measure the environment force. However, it is difficult to attach force sensors to slave robots, mainly due to their large size, insulation issues and also large currents often flowing through the end-effector for incision or cautery of tissues. Methods This paper provides a method to estimate the environment force, using a function parameter matrix and a recursive least-squares method. The estimated force is used to feed back the force information to the surgeon through the control architecture without involving the force sensors. Results The simulation and experimental results verify the efficacy of the proposed method. The force estimation error is negligible and the slave device successfully tracks the position of the master device while the stability of the teleoperation system is maintained. Conclusions The developed method allows practical haptic feedback for telerobotic surgery systems in the two-channel force,position control scheme without the direct employment of force sensors at the end-effector of the slave robot. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]