Human Subject’s Study for Virtual Fixtures Tools Collision Avoidance Evaluation in Robotic Surgery
EAES Academy. Iacono C. 07/05/22; 366547; P290
Cristina Iacono
Contributions
Contributions
Abstract
AIMS
During robot-assisted surgical procedures using the dVRK robot, potential collisions between surgical tools could create issues for the surgeons. Shared control techniques based on Virtual Fixtures (VF) can be applied to avoid surgical tool clashing, by rendering a repulsive force to the surgeon which is inversely proportional to the distance between tools. This work presents a human subjects’ study, that aims to demonstrates significant performance improvements thanks to the surgeon’s haptic feedback.
METHODS
The study involves twelve subjects divided into two groups, six experienced and six novice surgeons. It is articulated in two experiments using the dVRK robot in teleoperation mode. During each test, the subject keeps the first tool centered in the middle of a circle; meanwhile, the second tool must follow the circular path for 270◦ from a definite starting point 5 times. The test is performed both in free motion and with a VF collision avoidance method.
RESULTS
Figures 1 and 2 show the mean values of the minimum distance between tools for novice and expert subjects during both tests. To demonstrate the statistical relevance, a comparison is made between the mean values of minimum distance, through a statistical unpaired t-test, with a significance level α = 0.05. The test shows statistically significant differences between the means for all subjects in the novice group (Table I). It presents an increase in the minimum distance values of ∼ 10% in collision tests compared to free-hand tests.
CONCLUSIONS
The human subject study has shown statistically significant differences between the mean of the minimum distance between tools for the novice subjects. The VF test outperformed the free-hand test of 75%. No statistically significant differences are reported for expert surgeons. This result suggests that feeling a haptic force during the task allows maintaining a safe distance between the surgical tools. On the contrary, in the free-hand test, the subject has no force feedback and could dangerously reduce the distance between the tools. The results suggest that the VF-constrained task is not mentally or physically demanding. It represents a comfortable reminder of the collision risk, that diminishes the surgeon's mental workload.
During robot-assisted surgical procedures using the dVRK robot, potential collisions between surgical tools could create issues for the surgeons. Shared control techniques based on Virtual Fixtures (VF) can be applied to avoid surgical tool clashing, by rendering a repulsive force to the surgeon which is inversely proportional to the distance between tools. This work presents a human subjects’ study, that aims to demonstrates significant performance improvements thanks to the surgeon’s haptic feedback.
METHODS
The study involves twelve subjects divided into two groups, six experienced and six novice surgeons. It is articulated in two experiments using the dVRK robot in teleoperation mode. During each test, the subject keeps the first tool centered in the middle of a circle; meanwhile, the second tool must follow the circular path for 270◦ from a definite starting point 5 times. The test is performed both in free motion and with a VF collision avoidance method.
RESULTS
Figures 1 and 2 show the mean values of the minimum distance between tools for novice and expert subjects during both tests. To demonstrate the statistical relevance, a comparison is made between the mean values of minimum distance, through a statistical unpaired t-test, with a significance level α = 0.05. The test shows statistically significant differences between the means for all subjects in the novice group (Table I). It presents an increase in the minimum distance values of ∼ 10% in collision tests compared to free-hand tests.
CONCLUSIONS
The human subject study has shown statistically significant differences between the mean of the minimum distance between tools for the novice subjects. The VF test outperformed the free-hand test of 75%. No statistically significant differences are reported for expert surgeons. This result suggests that feeling a haptic force during the task allows maintaining a safe distance between the surgical tools. On the contrary, in the free-hand test, the subject has no force feedback and could dangerously reduce the distance between the tools. The results suggest that the VF-constrained task is not mentally or physically demanding. It represents a comfortable reminder of the collision risk, that diminishes the surgeon's mental workload.
AIMS
During robot-assisted surgical procedures using the dVRK robot, potential collisions between surgical tools could create issues for the surgeons. Shared control techniques based on Virtual Fixtures (VF) can be applied to avoid surgical tool clashing, by rendering a repulsive force to the surgeon which is inversely proportional to the distance between tools. This work presents a human subjects’ study, that aims to demonstrates significant performance improvements thanks to the surgeon’s haptic feedback.
METHODS
The study involves twelve subjects divided into two groups, six experienced and six novice surgeons. It is articulated in two experiments using the dVRK robot in teleoperation mode. During each test, the subject keeps the first tool centered in the middle of a circle; meanwhile, the second tool must follow the circular path for 270◦ from a definite starting point 5 times. The test is performed both in free motion and with a VF collision avoidance method.
RESULTS
Figures 1 and 2 show the mean values of the minimum distance between tools for novice and expert subjects during both tests. To demonstrate the statistical relevance, a comparison is made between the mean values of minimum distance, through a statistical unpaired t-test, with a significance level α = 0.05. The test shows statistically significant differences between the means for all subjects in the novice group (Table I). It presents an increase in the minimum distance values of ∼ 10% in collision tests compared to free-hand tests.
CONCLUSIONS
The human subject study has shown statistically significant differences between the mean of the minimum distance between tools for the novice subjects. The VF test outperformed the free-hand test of 75%. No statistically significant differences are reported for expert surgeons. This result suggests that feeling a haptic force during the task allows maintaining a safe distance between the surgical tools. On the contrary, in the free-hand test, the subject has no force feedback and could dangerously reduce the distance between the tools. The results suggest that the VF-constrained task is not mentally or physically demanding. It represents a comfortable reminder of the collision risk, that diminishes the surgeon's mental workload.
During robot-assisted surgical procedures using the dVRK robot, potential collisions between surgical tools could create issues for the surgeons. Shared control techniques based on Virtual Fixtures (VF) can be applied to avoid surgical tool clashing, by rendering a repulsive force to the surgeon which is inversely proportional to the distance between tools. This work presents a human subjects’ study, that aims to demonstrates significant performance improvements thanks to the surgeon’s haptic feedback.
METHODS
The study involves twelve subjects divided into two groups, six experienced and six novice surgeons. It is articulated in two experiments using the dVRK robot in teleoperation mode. During each test, the subject keeps the first tool centered in the middle of a circle; meanwhile, the second tool must follow the circular path for 270◦ from a definite starting point 5 times. The test is performed both in free motion and with a VF collision avoidance method.
RESULTS
Figures 1 and 2 show the mean values of the minimum distance between tools for novice and expert subjects during both tests. To demonstrate the statistical relevance, a comparison is made between the mean values of minimum distance, through a statistical unpaired t-test, with a significance level α = 0.05. The test shows statistically significant differences between the means for all subjects in the novice group (Table I). It presents an increase in the minimum distance values of ∼ 10% in collision tests compared to free-hand tests.
CONCLUSIONS
The human subject study has shown statistically significant differences between the mean of the minimum distance between tools for the novice subjects. The VF test outperformed the free-hand test of 75%. No statistically significant differences are reported for expert surgeons. This result suggests that feeling a haptic force during the task allows maintaining a safe distance between the surgical tools. On the contrary, in the free-hand test, the subject has no force feedback and could dangerously reduce the distance between the tools. The results suggest that the VF-constrained task is not mentally or physically demanding. It represents a comfortable reminder of the collision risk, that diminishes the surgeon's mental workload.
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