Surgical Instrument Research

Measure the hand.
Understand the work.

Styx is an early research concept for capturing the relationship between instrument motion, contact force and the visible surgical field.

The first system is deliberately modest: controlled training materials, instrument data, synchronized video, and a clear record of what the instrument actually did.

Styx early concept illustration — Styx — early concept illustration, not a finished prototype or validated clinical device.

01 / THE QUESTION

Better records begin with a narrower claim.

Video can show where a blade appears to be. It cannot always reveal the force at the handle, the hidden tip, the tissue response, or the operator's intent. Styx is exploring whether a small set of calibrated signals can make those moments easier to study.

Instrument data

Calibrated instrument sensing can describe the tool's motion and load—if they are calibrated against a known setup.

Visual context

Multi-angle video preserves the scene around the tool. Close-up views help, but appearance alone is not ground truth.

Research discipline

Every output should carry its uncertainty, calibration method and limits. The first job is to learn what is useful—not to claim clinical accuracy.

Research Goal

Capturing instrument data alongside the surgical field, so researchers can study what video alone cannot show.

Surgical Instrument Research is in development, with performance still to be validated. Not offered for clinical use.

02 / RESEARCH CONTEXT

Two views of the same question.

Our first camera experiments explore what a close view of the instrument can add to an external view of the setup. Early test materials help us study visibility and movement.

The reference view

This view helps us examine the setup and compare visible positions.

The instrument view

The close camera keeps the instrument and surface boundary in view. The experiment helps identify where focus, lighting and calibration need to improve.

Selected 14-second excerpts from our September 2026 bench tests, cropped and rotated for viewing, with audio removed. Clips play independently. These recordings explore capture feasibility; they do not establish measurement accuracy or wound depth.

A first measurement review

Three manually annotated snapshots compare the two camera views. The estimates describe projected tip extension below a visible reference edge, rather than actual wound depth. This early review illustrates a measurement approach that still needs calibration and independent validation.

03 / FIRST BUILD

Start larger. Make the measurement honest.

The first build can leave the electronics outside the handle. That makes the load path, wiring, calibration and data quality visible to a reviewer. Miniaturization comes only after the signal earns its place.

01Wired acquisition

02Training material

03Video + force timestamps

04No patient or clinical use

04 / START A CONVERSATION

Bring a real workflow.

The most useful next conversation is with someone who can point to a task where measurement, annotation or repeatability is genuinely expensive.

For research partnerships, technical review or early collaboration:
beckett.dillard@gmail.com

Measure the hand.Understand the work.