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Experimental study on restricting the robotic end-effector inside a lesion for safe telesurgery
Jongseong Jang1, Hyung Wook Kim1, Byung-Rok So2
1a 1 Institute of Innovative Surgical Technology, Hanyang University , Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Summary
This study introduces a safety strategy for telesurgery using an endoscopic telesurgical robot system (ETSRS). The method restricts robotic end-effector movement within a virtual wall, enhancing surgical precision and safety.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Surgical Technology
- Medical Engineering
Background:
- Telesurgery presents safety challenges, particularly concerning the precise control of surgical instruments.
- Endoscopic telesurgical robot systems (ETSRS) offer potential but require enhanced safety mechanisms.
- Restricting instrument movement within critical anatomical areas is crucial for preventing unintended damage.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a strategy for improving telesurgery safety by limiting the movement of an ETSRS end-effector within a defined virtual boundary.
- To integrate force feedback with movement restriction to provide operators with enhanced control and awareness.
- To assess the efficacy of this strategy in a simulated surgical environment.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of a virtual wall concept within the ETSRS to define safe operating zones.
- Development of collision detection and case classification algorithms to manage force feedback and movement restriction.
- Integration of proportional force feedback based on end-effector proximity and velocity relative to the virtual wall.
- Validation using phantom models simulating brain and soft tissue environments.
Main Results:
- The strategy successfully generated force feedback proportional to insertion depth and velocity.
- End-effector movement was effectively confined within the virtual wall boundaries.
- The virtual wall update rate exceeded 30 frames per second, ensuring real-time responsiveness.
- Phantom experiments demonstrated the system's acceptable performance and safety enhancement capabilities.
Conclusions:
- The proposed strategy effectively controls robotic end-effectors within a virtual wall, enhancing telesurgery safety.
- Both the robotic system and the operator benefit from the integrated signal and force feedback.
- This approach offers a promising method for improving the precision and safety of robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery.
