Press Release

On 18 June 2025 at the EAES2025 Congress, leading surgeons, researchers, and industry experts gathered in Belgrade, Serbia, to explore and demonstrate the PALPABLE project’s cutting-edge haptic feedback technology designed to restore the sense of touch in minimally invasive surgery (MIS.

This event presented significant advancements in bringing tactile feedback to MIS, addressing a longstanding challenge and need in the field. MIS has transformed patient care by reducing recovery times and improving surgical outcomes. However, the absence of tactile sensation has remained a critical limitation for surgeons.

The PALPABLE project is addressing this gap by introducing innovative haptic feedback technologies designed to enhance precision and safety in the operating room.

“We were excited to demonstrate our probe to the surgical community,” said Dr. Abu Bakar Dawood, PALPABLE researcher from Queen Mary University of London. “Working closely with clinical partners has been essential to understanding exactly what tactile information surgeons need. Our sensor can provide real-time feedback that surgeons have been missing in MIS, facilitating tissue characterisation.”

Workshop Highlights

• Clinical Perspectives: Speakers discussed the clinical need for tactile feedback in minimally invasive surgery and attendees gave feedback to help further refine and advance the technology
• Award-Winning Sensor: The Photonics West 2025 Award-winning dome sensor, utilising Fibre Bragg Gratings for estimating probe distance and orientation, was showcased.
• Presentation of innovative technology: The team presented findings on the abraded optical fi bre-based sensor developed for stiffness estimation.
• Live Demonstrations: Attendees were able to interact with the PALPABLE prototype and experience its haptic feedback capabilities first-hand.
• Integrated Solution: Demonstrations included the fully integrated probe featuring all sensors, highlighting the potential for comprehensive tactile feedback in MIS.

For further information about the PALPABLE project, please consult the website palpable-project.eu or contact Laura Jones by email.

About EAES:

The European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) is dedicated to advancing minimally invasive surgery through education, research, and innovation.

About PALPABLE:

PALPABLE is an EU-funded collaborative project which aspires to develop a next-generation palpation tool for identifying and visualising tissue abnormalities in minimally invasive surgeries (MIS). The system combines cutting-edge technologies using advanced optical sensing, soft robotics, and artificial intelligence to bring back the surgeon’s sense of touch, and enable tissue characterisation based on depth, size and stiffness.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement N°101092518.