Impedance controller of remote ultrasound diagnostic system

A master-slave type remote ultrasound diagnostic system was developed. This paper presents its controller. The controller has impedance control capability for the master and slave manipulators' positions. To realize manipulation stability in remote ultrasound diagnostic system, a special motion control law is proposed. The impedance control allows master and slave manipulators to move according to the motion control law, and allows the medical doctor to feel feedback force. Manipulability changes according to the impedance parameters. This paper makes clear the relationship of impedance parameters with manipulability and response speed. Furthermore, the method to determine appropriate impedance parameters is proposed according to observation of diagnostic tasks. Experimental results demonstrate that a medical doctor can perform diagnosis successfully using the proposed system.