NeuraSense Labs
Concept image: fine-tipped steel surgical forceps against a black background, traced by thin lines of violet light.
AI concept visualization

NeuraSense Labs Surgical sensing research

A new sense for surgery.

We develop impedance-based sensing and signal-analysis methods for surgical instruments, studying the electrical characteristics of tissue at the point of contact.

Explore the technology Talk with our team

01 The question

Surgeons read tissue by sight and experience. Our research adds another perspective: the electrical characteristics of tissue.

Visual information is essential in surgery. Through a camera or a microscope, telling a nerve from a vessel, fat or connective tissue depends on appearance, anatomy and the surgeon’s judgment, and the view is not always clear.

Tissues also behave differently when a very small alternating current passes through them. That behavior is invisible, but it can be measured. Our research asks whether measurements taken through the instrument already in the surgeon’s hand can add a dependable second source of information, right where the instrument meets tissue.

How impedance sensing works

02 From instrument to information

From tissue contact to electrical information.

Our development work follows four connected steps: contact, measurement, characterization and interpretation.

Schematic of the sensing concept Forceps tips touch a layered tissue block. A small test signal passes between the tips. The response is shown as two offset waves, then as a curve across frequencies compared with two reference bands. SIGNAL SPECTRUM point of contact applied response magnitude and phase at one frequency log frequency |Z| phase reference A reference B READOUT resemblesreference A
Fig. 1 Sensing schematic with simulated tissue-model values.

  1. 01 Contact

    The sensing approach uses the tips of bipolar forceps as electrodes, placing the measurement at the instrument’s point of contact.

  2. 02 Measure

    A small alternating test signal passes between the tips. The response is recorded two ways: how strongly the tissue opposes the current (magnitude) and how far the response shifts in time (phase).

  3. 03 Characterize

    Repeating the measurement across many frequencies traces a spectrum. Cell membranes, fluid and fiber structure shape that spectrum, which is why different tissues can produce different patterns.

  4. 04 Interpret

    Signal-analysis and classification methods compare spectra with characterized references. Our goal is useful tissue information that supports surgical judgment.

Explore the technology

03 Research focus

Precision starts with measurement.

Reliable sensing starts with careful measurement, traceable data and tests that can be repeated. These are the priorities guiding our development work.

See our research approach

  1. A

    Bench characterization

    Measuring tissue impedance across frequencies under controlled conditions, to learn which differences are consistent and which are artifacts of the setup.

  2. B

    Calibration and repeatability

    Reference loads, drift checks and repeated measurements, so a signal means the same thing from one session to the next.

  3. C

    Traceable data

    Linking measurements to their specimens, setup and conditions, with separate data for model development and evaluation.

  4. D

    Instrument integration

    Carrying the measurement into a surgical instrument while respecting how that instrument is already held and used.

Concept image: a gloved hand adjusts a small precision fixture holding a probe on a dark laboratory bench, with a measurement instrument in the background.
AI concept visualization Precision measurement in a research setting.

Insights

Short, educational explainers on the science and the method behind tissue sensing.

  1. Insight 01 Reading tissue with impedance How tissue responds to alternating current across frequencies.
  2. Insight 02 Measuring at the point of contact Contact, pressure, electrodes and energy delivery: the engineering of a clean measurement through a surgical instrument.
  3. Insight 03 Evaluating tissue-sensing data Study design, reference labels and independent evaluation for tissue-sensing research.

04 Where this leads

A path toward tissue-aware surgery.

Our roadmap starts with signal characterization and instrument integration, then extends toward tissue information for surgeons and future robotic systems.

Concept image: a robotic arm holding a slender surgical instrument above a draped operating table, with monitors in the background.
AI concept visualization Instrumentation for future surgical systems.

  1. Stage 1 · In development

    Characterize the signal

    Bench measurements of tissue impedance across frequencies, with calibration and repeatability built in from the start.

  2. Stage 2 · In development

    Bring sensing to the instrument

    Developing an instrument-integrated measurement concept built around bipolar forceps, with bench and tissue-model evaluation as the next steps.

  3. Stage 3 · Vision

    Information at the point of contact

    Clear tissue information at the point of contact that supports surgical judgment.

  4. Stage 4 · Long-term vision

    Tissue-aware surgical systems

    Tissue sensing as one input among imaging and instrument data in robotic and data-rich surgical environments.

05 Collaborate

Advance surgical sensing with us.

We welcome conversations with surgeons, researchers and engineers working on related problems in tissue sensing, instrumentation and surgical data.

Ways to collaborate Contact us