Sensing Physiological Tremor in a Hand-Held Microsurgical Instrument

Physiological tremor is an involuntary, approximately rhythmic and roughly sinusoidal movement [1]. It is inherent in all humans. The characteristics of physiological tremor are highly dependent on the body parts [2]. For instance, the frequency of tremor in the elbow ranges from 3 to 5 Hz while it ranges from 8 to 12 Hz in the wrist. Physiological tremor is benign for everyday tasks such as walking or eating. However, tasks that require fine muscle control such as microsurgery or military targeting are susceptible to physiological tremor. The imprecision in positioning the tool-tip due to the tremor makes some ophthalmological, neurological and inner ear microsurgeries difficult [3]. Therefore, real-time compensation of physiological tremor would enable surgeons to accurately perform microsurgeries.