Medical Robotics

The first generation of surgical robots are already being installed in a number of operating rooms around the world. Robotics is being introduced to medicine because it allows for unprecedented control and precision of surgical instruments in minimally invasive procedures. So far, robots have been used to position an endoscope, perform gallbladder surgery and correct gastroesophogeal reflux and heartburn. The ultimate goal of the robotic surgery field is to design a robot that can be used to perform closed-chest, beating-heart surgery. The use of robotics in surgery will expand over the next decades without any doubt. Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is a revolutionary approach in surgery. In MIS, the operation is performed with instruments and viewing equipment inserted into the body through small incisions created by the surgeon, in contrast to open surgery with large incisions. This minimizes surgical trauma and damage to healthy tissue, resulting in shorter patient recovery time. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the state-of-art, to present new ideas, original results and practical experiences in this expanding area. Nevertheless, many chapters in the book concern advanced research on this growing area. The book provides critical analysis of clinical trials, assessment of the benefits and risks of the application of these technologies. This book is certainly a small sample of the research activity on Medical Robotics going on around the globe as you read it, but it surely covers a good deal of what has been done in the field recently, and as such it works as a valuable source for researchers interested in the involved subjects, whether they are currently “medical roboticists” or not

Comparing Training Effects of Virtual Reality Flight Simulation to Conventional PC-Based Flight Simulation

The purpose of the current project was to investigate the effect of utilizing Virtual Reality (VR) technologies for flight training by comparing the training results when using conventional desktop flight simulation versus VR flight simulation. Additionally, this project examined the user experience of VR flight simulation and how users’ motivation and satisfaction with VR simulations. This research employed a quasi-transfer of training experiment including 48 participants. Analyses indicated that VR group participants performed better in the post-training maneuver performance on an FTD than in the conventional desktop simulation group. Findings also supported that VR flight simulation could provide a better user experience and generate a higher motivation for usage. This work contributed positive evidence that VR flight simulation has a large potential to be an effective flight training and provided a foundation for future research to continue exploring the training effect of VR flight simulation. Keywords: virtual reality, flight training, user experience, self-efficac

A survey of haptics in serious gaming

Serious gaming often requires high level of realism for training and learning purposes. Haptic technology has been proved to be useful in many applications with an additional perception modality complementary to the audio and the vision. It provides novel user experience to enhance the immersion of virtual reality with a physical control-layer. This survey focuses on the haptic technology and its applications in serious gaming. Several categories of related applications are listed and discussed in details, primarily on haptics acts as cognitive aux and main component in serious games design. We categorize haptic devices into tactile, force feedback and hybrid ones to suit different haptic interfaces, followed by description of common haptic gadgets in gaming. Haptic modeling methods, in particular, available SDKs or libraries either for commercial or academic usage, are summarized. We also analyze the existing research difficulties and technology bottleneck with haptics and foresee the future research directions

Visuohaptic Simulation of a Borescope for Aircraft Engine Inspection

Consisting of a long, fiber optic probe containing a small CCD camera controlled by hand-held articulation interface, a video borescope is used for remote visual inspection of hard to reach components in an aircraft. The knowledge and psychomotor skills, specifically the hand-eye coordination, required for effective inspection are hard to acquire through limited exposure to the borescope in aviation maintenance schools. Inexperienced aircraft maintenance technicians gain proficiency through repeated hands-on learning in the workplace along a steep learning curve while transitioning from the classroom to the workforce. Using an iterative process combined with focused user evaluations, this dissertation details the design, implementation and evaluation of a novel visuohaptic simulator for training novice aircraft maintenance technicians in the task of engine inspection using a borescope. First, we describe the development of the visual components of the simulator, along with the acquisition and modeling of a representative model of a {PT-6} aircraft engine. Subjective assessments with both expert and novice aircraft maintenance engineers evaluated the visual realism and the control interfaces of the simulator. In addition to visual feedback, probe contact feedback is provided through a specially designed custom haptic interface that simulates tip contact forces as the virtual probe intersects with the {3D} model surfaces of the engine. Compared to other haptic interfaces, the custom design is unique in that it is inexpensive and uses a real borescope probe to simulate camera insertion and withdrawal. User evaluation of this simulator with probe tip feedback suggested a trend of improved performance with haptic feedback. Next, we describe the development of a physically-based camera model for improved behavioral realism of the simulator. Unlike a point-based camera, the enhanced camera model simulates the interaction of the borescope probe, including multiple points of contact along the length of the probe. We present visual comparisons of a real probe\u27s motion with the simulated probe model and develop a simple algorithm for computing the resultant contact forces. User evaluation comparing our custom haptic device with two commonly available haptic devices, the Phantom Omni and the Novint Falcon, suggests that the improved camera model as well as probe contact feedback with the 3D engine model plays a significant role in the overall engine inspection process. Finally, we present results from a skill transfer study comparing classroom-only instruction with both simulator and hands-on training. Students trained using the simulator and the video borescope completed engine inspection using the real video borescope significantly faster than students who received classroom-only training. The speed improvements can be attributed to reduced borescope probe maneuvering time within the engine and improved psychomotor skills due to training. Given the usual constraints of limited time and resources, simulator training may provide beneficial skills needed by novice aircraft maintenance technicians to augment classroom instruction, resulting in a faster transition into the aviation maintenance workforce

A gaze-contingent framework for perceptually-enabled applications in healthcare

Patient safety and quality of care remain the focus of the smart operating room of the future. Some of the most influential factors with a detrimental effect are related to suboptimal communication among the staff, poor flow of information, staff workload and fatigue, ergonomics and sterility in the operating room. While technological developments constantly transform the operating room layout and the interaction between surgical staff and machinery, a vast array of opportunities arise for the design of systems and approaches, that can enhance patient safety and improve workflow and efficiency. The aim of this research is to develop a real-time gaze-contingent framework towards a "smart" operating suite, that will enhance operator's ergonomics by allowing perceptually-enabled, touchless and natural interaction with the environment. The main feature of the proposed framework is the ability to acquire and utilise the plethora of information provided by the human visual system to allow touchless interaction with medical devices in the operating room. In this thesis, a gaze-guided robotic scrub nurse, a gaze-controlled robotised flexible endoscope and a gaze-guided assistive robotic system are proposed. Firstly, the gaze-guided robotic scrub nurse is presented; surgical teams performed a simulated surgical task with the assistance of a robot scrub nurse, which complements the human scrub nurse in delivery of surgical instruments, following gaze selection by the surgeon. Then, the gaze-controlled robotised flexible endoscope is introduced; experienced endoscopists and novice users performed a simulated examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract using predominately their natural gaze. Finally, a gaze-guided assistive robotic system is presented, which aims to facilitate activities of daily living. The results of this work provide valuable insights into the feasibility of integrating the developed gaze-contingent framework into clinical practice without significant workflow disruptions.Open Acces

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HAPTIC AND VISUAL FEEDBACK FOR KINESTHETIC TRAINING TASKS

Haptics is the sense of simulating and applying the sense of human touch. Application of touch sensations is done with haptic interface devices. The past few years has seen the development of several haptic interface devices with a wide variety of technologies used in their design. This thesis introduces haptic technologies and includes a survey of haptic interface devices and technologies. An improvement in simulating and applying touch sensation when using the Quanser Haptic Wand with proSense is suggested in this work using a novel five degree-of-freedom algorithm. This approach uses two additional torques to enhance the three degree-of-freedom of force feedback currently available with these products. Modern surgical trainers for performing laparoscopic surgery are incorporating haptic feedback in addition to visual feedback for training. This work presents a quantitative comparison of haptic versus visual training. One of the key results of the study is that haptic feedback is better than visual feedback for kinesthetic navigation tasks

Supernumerary Robotic Arm for Three-Handed Surgical Application: Behavioral Study and Design of Human-Machine Interface

In surgical to industrial manipulation, the operator needs assistance for tasks requiring more than two hands. Teamwork may be the source of errors and inefficiency, especially if the assistant is a novice or unfamiliar with the main operator. The need for assistance may become problematic in case of lack of human resources e.g. in emergency surgical cases in the late hours of the night. Our objective is to improve the surgeon's autonomy and dexterity by a robotic arm under his own control. Although a number of robotic instrument holders have been developed, the best way to control such devices is still an open question. No behavioral study has been conducted on the best control strategy and human performance in three-handed tasks. We have selected the foot for commanding the third arm on the basis of a literature review. A series of experiments in virtual environments has been conducted to study the feasibility of this choice. The first experiment compares performance in the same task using two or three hands. Results show that three-handed manipulation is preferred to two-handed manipulation in demanding tasks. The second experiment investigated the type of tasks to be aimed in three-handed manipulation and the learning curve of users. Moving the hands and a foot simultaneously in opposite directions was perceived as difficult compared to a more active task with liberty in choosing the limbs coordination. Limbs were moved in parallel rather than serially. The performance improved within a few minutes of practice. Also, the sense of ownership improved constantly during the experiment. Two other experiments were aimed at handling the endoscope in laparoscopic surgery. Surgeons and medical students participated in these studies. Residents had a more positive approach towards foot usage and performed better compared to more experienced surgeons. This proves that the best training period for surgeons to use a foot controlled robotic arm is during their residency. A realistic virtual abdominal cavity has been developed for the last experiment. This had a positive influence on the participants' performance and emphasizes the importance of using a familiar context for training such a "three-handed surgery". Finally, two different foot interfaces were developed to investigate the most intuitive third arm commanding strategy. A robotic arm is hence controlled by the foot's translation or rotation in one interface (isotonic interface), and by force or torque in the other one (isometric interface). An experimental behavioral study was conducted to compare the two devices. Isometric rate control was preferred to isotonic position control due to the lower physical burden and higher movement accuracy of the robot. It was shown that the proposed device for isometric rate control could be used for intuitive control of four DoFs of a slave robotic arm. This thesis is the first step in a systematic investigation of a three-handed manipulation, two biological hands and a foot controlled robotic assistant. Findings suggest a high potential in using the foot to become more autonomous in surgery as well as other fields. Users can learn the control paradigm in a short period of time with little mental and physical burden. We expect the developed foot interfaces to be the basis of future development of more intuitive control interfaces. We believe that foot controlled robotic arms will be commonly used in various surgical as well as industrial applications