Application of deterministic networking for reducing network delay in urological telesurgery: A retrospective study

Deterministic Networking (DetNet) is a new technology that can effectively control network delay and may promote the revolution of telemedicine. This study verified the feasibility and advantage of deterministic networking in telesurgery.

All telesurgeries employed the 'MicroHand S' surgical robot system. The network mode adopted fixed-line and 5G wireless networks, while the network configuration scheme adopted DetNet and general networking. The telesurgery data of three patients using DetNet and four patients using a general network were collected, and the time-delay, packet loss rate and delay jitter were compared during the operations.

Compared with a general network, DetNet can effectively control data transmission during the telesurgery process for both fixed-line and 5G wireless networks, further reducing network latency, minimising data fluctuations, and improving surgery security.

The DetNet meets the requirements of deterministic delay, low jitter and high bandwidth for telesurgery, which may provide effective network guarantee for developing the telemedicine system.