Performance evaluation of haptic hand-controllers in a robot-assisted surgical system

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Surgical Technology

Background:

• Evaluating commercial haptic hand-controllers for suitability in surgical applications.
• Assessing user performance with different haptic feedback devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• Compare the performance of three haptic hand-controllers (Sigma 7, HD(2), PHANToM Premium 3.0).
• Determine which controller offers superior suitability for participants in robotic-assisted surgery tasks.

Main Methods:

• Two surgeons and seven engineers performed peg-in-hole tasks of varying difficulty.
• Operators controlled a Kuka manipulator with surgical forceps and a microscope.
• Performance was measured using ten metrics including effort, speed, accuracy, improvement, and force applied.

Main Results:

• The PHANToM Premium 3.0 demonstrated the best performance.
• This controller allowed for a grip similar to how surgeons hold conventional surgical tools.

Conclusions:

• Haptic controllers with a human upper extremity-like linkage structure enhance surgeon performance.
• This improved performance in robotic-assisted surgery is attributed to leveraging the brain's natural connectome.