A new evaluation and training system for micro-telemanipulation at the middle ear

In this article, a new surgical model for evaluating telemanipulators used in middle ear surgery is presented. The purpose of this work was to develop an evaluation and training system which imitates a typical surgical task of middle ear surgery and which can easily be repeated in order to get significant result. The abstract task can be performed manually or by means of a microsurgical telemanipulator and guaranties stable experimental conditions between different subjects at any time. As a task the stapedotomy was chosen, due to the high demands in positioning and in applying forces to the delicate structures in the middle ear. The manual and telemanipulated performance of 15 ENT surgeons and 17 medical students was compared using this evaluation and training system.