Abstract: Surgical probe for use in minimally invasive surgery. The probe includes an elastic membrane tip portion which deforms upon contact with an object. The elastic membrane forms an enclosure containing fluid and an inside surface of the membrane includes a plurality of visible markings such as dots. A CCD camera forms an image of the dots and the image of the dots or a representation of the image of the dots is displayed on a video monitor. The probe also includes an ultrasound transducer which responds to frequency shifts to indicate motion of an object reflecting ultrasound energy. A speaker generates sounds related to the frequency shift as an indication of motion. The probe thus provides information about the surface of an object encountered during a minimally invasive procedure and also about motion of structures within the body.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for moving a member provides parameters related to a given destination position of the member and corresponding to a switch time, a final time, an acceleration amplitude, and a deceleration amplitude. These parameters are used to specify a piecewise continuous function of time as an input signal. The input signal feeds a motor to move the member. The final time, switch time, acceleration amplitude, and deceleration amplitude are specified by iteratively providing minimal values for the switch time and final time while providing maximum acceptable values for the acceleration amplitude and deceleration amplitude for each possible given change in a characteristic of the movable member. A pre-shaped input signal is thereby provided which is bandwidth limited such that its energy is concentrated below the frequency of the lowest system resonance, since the signal is a piecewise continuous function comprising concatenated raised cosine and constant functions.

Abstract: A vibratory linear motor system employs a comb-shaped electromagnet to excite transverse mechanical oscillations of a relatively thin, spring-like beam. The electromagnet establishes an approximate standing wave on the beam for which brakes mounted on either side of the beam provide independently established boundary conditions and produce rectified linear motion thereof. The brakes may be electromagnetically, magnetostrictively, or piezoelectrically actuated. An electronic control provides modulated currents to the exciter electromagnet and the brakes in order to control the rectified linear motion of the beam.