Operability evaluation using an simulation system for gripping motion in robotic tele-surgery

Tele-surgery enables medical care even in remote regions and has been accomplished in clinical cases by means of special communication lines. To make tele-surgery a more common method of medical care, the surgical environment must be made available using public lines of communication, such as the Internet. Moreover, a support system during operation is required as the use of surgical tools occurs in a delayed environment. In our research, we focus on the operability of certain tasks conducted by surgeons during a medical procedure, and aim to clarify the optimum environment for robotic tele-surgery using a simulation. In the present study, we conducted an experiment to evaluate this operability using a simulation system consisting of a virtual slave manipulator, network simulator and an organ deformation calculator. The operability of a task to grip soft tissue was evaluated using a subjective workload assessment tool, NASA task load index (NASA-TLX). Results indicate that operability changed over a delay of 200 ms in the environment during the experiment. Future studies will focus on clarifying a comfortable tele-surgical environment using the present evaluation of operability. In addition, an intra-operative assistance system will be constructed using a simulation.