Maximum acceptable communication delay for the realization of telesurgery.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Surgical Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Telesurgery enables remote surgical procedures but is sensitive to communication delays.
• Previous research on acceptable communication delays primarily focused on static environments.
• The impact of delays in dynamic telesurgical environments remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the acceptable limits of communication delays in a dynamic telesurgery environment using a surgical assist robot.
• To evaluate the effect of varying communication delays on surgical task performance.
• To compare the performance of surgeons with different experience levels under varying delay conditions.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-four subjects with varying surgical experience performed four tasks using a surgical assist robot under communication delays of 0-300 ms.
• Task accomplishment time and forceps movement distance were recorded.
• Surgical performance was compared between experienced robotic surgeons with delays and less-experienced surgeons without delays.

Main Results:

• Task accomplishment time and forceps movement distance increased with communication delays beyond 70 ms.
• No significant difference in performance was observed between 70 ms and 100 ms delays.
• Robotic surgeons with delays of 100 ms or less performed equal to or better than less-experienced surgeons without delays.

Conclusions:

• Communication delays of 100 ms or less are deemed acceptable for telesurgery.
• Surgical experience significantly influences performance, with experienced robotic surgeons potentially overcoming moderate delays.
• Findings suggest that training and experience are critical factors in mitigating the effects of communication latency in telesurgery.