Quantifying laparoscopic camera workspace and kinematics during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy

Robotic surgery has grown significantly in recent years because, in addition to high precision, the most technologically advanced systems provide surgeons with a high-quality three-dimensional (3D) view. Although studies on autonomous camera control are beginning to emerge, there are still limited data on laparoscopic camera motion, including its kinematics and workspace requirements during surgery. Therefore, this study aims to quantify the 3D workspace and motion metrics, including speed and absolute tangential acceleration, of the laparoscopic camera during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). This single-centre observational study included ten RARP procedures performed by two surgeons using the da Vinci Xi system (Intuitive Surgical, CA, USA). Camera motion was recorded using a Polaris Vega optical tracking system (NDI, ON, Canada). A reference marker fixed to the robotic platform defined the local coordinate system, and a second marker was attached to the top of the camera. At the end of each surgery, a postoperative calibration was performed to determine the camera-tip position relative to the camera marker. Workspace and motion metrics were computed from valid samples across each recording and within individual surgical phases. Cleaning intervals and periods of marker occlusion or tracking interference were excluded from the analysis. Median valid tracking duration was 36.6 (32.1-63.3) min, with a median valid-sample coverage of 58.2 (38.6-67.9)%. The median complete-procedure workspace bounding-box volume was 356.56 (259.49-791.42) cm³, whereas the median convex-hull volume was 104.35 (81.06-219.51) cm³. The largest phase-specific workspace was observed during vesicourethral anastomosis, whereas the smallest was observed during endopelvic fascia incision. Motion metrics were comparatively consistent across surgical phases. This study quantified the laparoscopic camera workspace and characterized its motion during real RARP procedures, providing preliminary quantitative data to support the development of future autonomous robotic camera-control systems for RARP.