A haptic guidance system for simulated catheter navigation with different kinaesthetic feedback profiles.

Background: This paper proposes a haptic guidance system to improve catheter navigation within a simulated environment.

Methods: Three force profiles were constructed to evaluate the system: collision prevention; centreline navigation; and a novel force profile of reinforcement learning (RL). All force profiles were evaluated from the left common iliac to the right atrium.

Visual servoing of continuum robots: Methods, challenges, and prospects.

Background: Recent advancements in continuum robotics have accentuated developing efficient and stable controllers to handle shape deformation and compliance. The control of continuum robots (CRs) using physical sensors attached to the robot, particularly in confined spaces, is difficult due to their limited accuracy in three-dimensional deflections and challenging localisation. Therefore, using non-contact imaging sensors finds noticeable importance, particularly in medical scenarios.

Roboethics principles and policies in Europe and North America.

Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionizing all spheres of human life. From industrial processes to graphic design, the implementation of automated intelligent systems is changing how industries work. The spread of robots and AI systems has triggered academic institutions to closely examine how these technologies may affect the humanity-this is how the fields of roboethics and AI ethics have been born.

RoboEthics in COVID-19: A Case Study in Dentistry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic effects on the healthcare system, businesses, and education. In many countries, businesses were shut down, universities and schools had to cancel in-person classes, and many workers had to work remotely and socially distance in order to prevent the spread of the virus. These measures opened the door for technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence to play an important role in minimizing the negative effects of such closures.

Dynamic Reconfiguration of Redundant Haptic Interfaces for Rendering Soft and Hard Contacts.

There are conflicting objectives between required characteristics of haptic interfaces such as maximum force feedback capability versus back-drive friction, which can be optimally traded-off in a redundant haptic interface; a redundant haptic interface has more degrees of freedom than minimally required ones for a given task. In this article, a contact-aware null-space control approach for redundant haptic interfaces is proposed to address these trade-offs. First, we introduce a task-dependent null-space controller in which the internal motion of the redundant haptic interface is appropriately controlled to achieve a desired performance; i.

Evaluation of haptic devices and end-users: Novel performance metrics in tele-robotic microsurgery.

Background: Here, we present performance evaluation methodology that distinguishes the performance of a haptic device from end-user skill level in a tele-robotic system.

Methods: A pick-&-place experiment was designed and eight participants micromanipulated cotton strips, similar to maneuvers performed during microsurgery. Using three nonredundant haptic devices: neuroArmPLUS , a custom developed master manipulator, and two commercially available products, sigma.

Challenges in developing a magnetic resonance-compatible haptic hand-controller for neurosurgical training.

A haptic device is an actuated human-machine interface utilized by an operator to dynamically interact with a remote environment. This interaction could be virtual (virtual reality) or physical such as using a robotic arm. To date, different mechanisms have been considered to actuate the haptic device to reflect force feedback from the remote environment.

Nonparametric bootstrap technique for calibrating surgical SmartForceps: theory and application.

Knowledge of forces, exerted on the brain tissue during the performance of neurosurgical tasks, is critical for quality assurance, case rehearsal, and training purposes. Quantifying the interaction forces has been made possible by developing SmartForceps, a bipolar forceps retrofitted by a set of strain gauges. The forces are estimated using voltages read from strain gauges.

Effects of Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation on Neurosurgical Skill Acquisition: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Recent changes in surgical training environments may have limited opportunities for trainees to gain proficiency in skill. Complex skills such as neurosurgery require extended periods of training. Methods to enhance surgical training are required to overcome duty-hour restrictions, to ensure the acquisition of skill proficiency.

Vibrational Profiling of Brain Tumors and Cells.

This study reports vibration profiles of neuronal cells and tissues as well as brain tumor and neocortical specimens. A contact-free method and analysis protocol was designed to convert an atomic force microscope into an ultra-sensitive microphone with capacity to record and listen to live biological samples. A frequency of 3.

Tool-Tissue Interaction Forces in Brain Arteriovenous Malformation Surgery.

Objective: Surgical resection of a brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) poses a technical challenge because of the fragility and number of small feeding and draining vessels around the nidus. Acquiring knowledge of the optimal force applied to such tissue is important in surgical performance and education.

Methods: A force-sensing bipolar forceps was developed through installation of strain gauge sensors, and force profiles were obtained from 2 AVM surgeries.

Surgical Skill Assessment Using Motion Quality and Smoothness.

Objectives: This article presents a quantitative technique to assess motion quality and smoothness during the performance of micromanipulation tasks common to surgical maneuvers. The objective is to investigate the effectiveness of the jerk index, a derivative of acceleration with respect to time, as a kinetostatic measure for assessment of surgical performance.

Design: A surgical forceps was instrumented with a position tracker and accelerometer that allowed measurement of position and acceleration relative to tool motion.

Evaluation of haptic interfaces for simulation of drill vibration in virtual temporal bone surgery.

Surgical training is evolving from an observership model towards a new paradigm that includes virtual-reality (VR) simulation. In otolaryngology, temporal bone dissection has become intimately linked with VR simulation as the complexity of anatomy demands a high level of surgeon aptitude and confidence. While an adequate 3D visualization of the surgical site is available in current simulators, the force feedback rendered during haptic interaction does not convey vibrations.

Improved transoral surgical tool design by CT measurements of the oral cavity and pharynx.

The majority of head and neck cancers arise from the oral cavity and oropharynx. Many of these lesions will be amenable to surgical resection using transoral approaches including transoral robotic surgery (TORS). To develop and control TORS tools, precise dimensions of the oral cavity and pharynx are desirable.

Treatment of Glioma Using neuroArm Surgical System.

The use of robotic technology in the surgical treatment of brain tumour promises increased precision and accuracy in the performance of surgery. Robotic manipulators may allow superior access to narrow surgical corridors compared to freehand or conventional neurosurgery. This paper reports values and ranges of tool-tissue interaction forces during the performance of glioma surgery using an MR compatible, image-guided neurosurgical robot called neuroArm.

Quantifying force and positional frequency bands in neurosurgical tasks.

To establish the design requirements for an MR-compatible haptic hand-controller, this paper measures magnitudes and frequency bands of three mechanical motion and interaction components during the performance of neurosurgical tasks on a cadaveric brain. The hand-controller would allow the performance of virtual neurosurgical tasks within the bore of a high field magnet during image acquisition, i.e.

Quantifying workspace and forces of surgical dissection during robot-assisted neurosurgery.

Background: A prerequisite for successful robot-assisted neurosurgery is to use a hand-controller matched with characteristics of real robotic microsurgery. This study reports quantified data pertaining to the required workspace and exerted forces of surgical tools during robot-assisted microsurgery.

Methods: A surgeon conducted four operations in which the neuroArm surgical system, an image-guided computer-assisted manipulator specifically designed to perform robot-assisted neurosurgery, was employed to surgically remove brain tumors.

Quantification of Forces During a Neurosurgical Procedure: A Pilot Study.

Objective: Knowledge of tool-tissue interaction is mostly taught and learned in a qualitative manner because a means to quantify the technical aspects of neurosurgery is currently lacking. Neurosurgeons typically require years of hands-on experience, together with multiple initial trial and error, to master the optimal force needed during the performance of neurosurgical tasks. The aim of this pilot study was to develop a novel force-sensing bipolar forceps for neurosurgery and obtain preliminary data on specific tasks performed on cadaveric brains.

Robotics in the neurosurgical treatment of glioma.

Background: The treatment of glioma remains a significant challenge with high recurrence rates, morbidity, and mortality. Merging image guided robotic technology with microsurgery adds a new dimension as they relate to surgical ergonomics, patient safety, precision, and accuracy.

Methods: An image-guided robot, called neuroArm, has been integrated into the neurosurgical operating room, and used to augment the surgical treatment of glioma in 18 patients.

Performance evaluation of haptic hand-controllers in a robot-assisted surgical system.

Background: This paper presents the experimental evaluation of three commercially available haptic hand-controllers to evaluate which was more suitable to the participants.

Methods: Two surgeons and seven engineers performed two peg-in-hole tasks with different levels of difficulty. Each operator guided the end-effector of a Kuka manipulator that held surgical forceps and was equipped with a surgical microscope.

Forces exerted during microneurosurgery: a cadaver study.

Background: A prerequisite for the successful design and use of robots in neurosurgery is knowledge of the forces exerted by surgeons during neurosurgical procedures. The aim of the present cadaver study was to measure the surgical instrument forces exerted during microneurosurgery.

Methods: An experimental apparatus was set up consisting of a platform for human cadaver brains, a Leica microscope to provide illumination and magnification, and a Quanser 6 Degrees-Of-Freedom Telepresence System for tissue manipulation and force measurements.

The evolution of neuroArm.

Intraoperative imaging disrupts the rhythm of surgery despite providing an excellent opportunity for surgical monitoring and assessment. To allow surgery within real-time images, neuroArm, a teleoperated surgical robotic system, was conceptualized. The objective was to design and manufacture a magnetic resonance-compatible robot with a human-machine interface that could reproduce some of the sight, sound, and touch of surgery at a remote workstation.

Merging machines with microsurgery: clinical experience with neuroArm.

Object: It has been over a decade since the introduction of the da Vinci Surgical System into surgery. Since then, technology has been advancing at an exponential rate, and newer surgical robots are becoming increasingly sophisticated, which could greatly impact the performance of surgery. NeuroArm is one such robotic system.