A feasibility study on image-based control of surgical robot using a 60-GHz wireless communication system

This paper presents an evaluation study on the feasibility of introducing wireless connection into a neurosurgical robot, which is controlled by an image-based navigation system. The wireless connection introduced into the robotic system is based on amplitude shift keying (ASK) at 60 GHz. With this wireless connection, data transmission at the bit-rate of 1 Gbps or more is possible, and here high-definition video images (1080i/1080p) can be transmitted. Such a wireless connection system is implemented in the surgical robot replaces the cable connection between the digital video camera and the controller. In this study, the wireless robotic surgical system is evaluated in terms of its accuracy of navigation using the transmitted video images. The results of a wireless connection test under a line-of-sight (LOS) environment show that navigation accuracy observed when using this wireless surgical robot is comparable to that when using a wired robotic system.