  Patient outcomes in the medical field are improving through the use and
incorporation of robotics technology and laser physics, e.g., the use of
optical fibers and lasers in micro-surgery. This paper describes the design and
implementation of a new optical fiber laser micro-surgery system, one that is
the first to use closed-loop feedback control. In this computerassisted laser
scanning tool the laser beam is controlled by four magnetic actuators. After
attaching permanent magnets to the free end of the optical fiber, it is the
control of these four magnets that produces an accurate laser scanning system,
one suited to micro-surgery applications. The interaction between the
electromagnetic fields generated by the external magnetic coils and the flux of
the internal permanent magnets, produces the control torques required to
produce the desired movement of the optic fiber. The tracking error of the
optic fiber is compensated for by using a photo-detector sensor as the feedback
transducer in the control system. The magnetic torque bends the optical fiber
and the feedback from the photodetector gives automated control and high-speed
laser scanning of the fiber tip. The simulation and the experimental results
are accurate and are co-related.
