Search

Eye-tracking technology has been shown to improve trainee performance in the aircraft industry, radiology, and surgery. The ability to track the point-of-regard of a supervisor and reflect this onto a subjects’ laparoscopic screen to aid instruction of a simulated task is attractive, in particular when considering the multilingual make up of modern surgical teams and the development of collaborative surgical techniques. We tried to develop a bespoke interface to project a supervisors’ point-of-regard onto a subjects’ laparoscopic screen and to investigate whether using the supervisor’s eye-gaze could be used as a tool to aid the identification of a target during a surgical-simulated task. We developed software to project a supervisors’ point-of-regard onto a subjects’ screen whilst undertaking surgically related laparoscopic tasks. Twenty-eight subjects with varying levels of operative experience and proficiency in English undertook a series of surgically minded laparoscopic tasks. Subjects were instructed with verbal queues (V), a cursor reflecting supervisor’s eye-gaze (E), or both (VE). Performance metrics included time to complete tasks, eye-gaze latency, and number of errors. Completion times and number of errors were significantly reduced when eye-gaze instruction was employed (VE, E). In addition, the time taken for the subject to correctly focus on the target (latency) was significantly reduced. We have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of a novel framework to enable a supervisor eye-gaze to be projected onto a trainee’s laparoscopic screen. Furthermore, we have shown that utilizing eye-tracking technology to provide visual instruction improves completion times and reduces errors in a simulated environment. Although this technology requires significant development, the potential applications are wide-ranging.

Minimally invasive and robotic surgery changes the capacity for surgical mentors to guide their trainees with the control customary to open surgery. This neuroergonomic study aims to assess a “Collaborative Gaze Channel” (CGC); which detects trainer gaze-behavior and displays the point of regard to the trainee. A randomized crossover study was conducted in which twenty subjects performed a simulated robotic surgical task necessitating collaboration either with verbal (control condition) or visual guidance with CGC (study condition). Trainee occipito-parietal (O-P) cortical function was assessed with optical topography (OT) and gaze-behavior was evaluated using video-oculography. Performance during gaze-assistance was significantly superior [biopsy number: (mean ± SD): control = 5.6 ± 1.8 vs. CGC = 6.6 ± 2.0; p < 0.05] and was associated with significantly lower O-P cortical activity [ΔHbO2 mMol × cm [median (IQR)] control = 2.5 (12.0) vs. CGC 0.63 (11.2), p < 0.001]. A random effect model (REM) confirmed the association between guidance mode and O-P excitation. Network cost and global efficiency were not significantly influenced by guidance mode. A gaze channel enhances performance, modulates visual search, and alleviates the burden in brain centers subserving visual attention and does not induce changes in the trainee’s O-P functional network observable with the current OT technique. The results imply that through visual guidance, attentional resources may be liberated, potentially improving the capability of trainees to attend to other safety critical events during the procedure., published_or_final_version

This paper presents a human-robot interface with perceptual docking to allow for the control of multiple microbots. The aim is to demonstrate that real-time eye tracking can be used for empowering robots with human vision by using knowledge acquired in situ. Several micro-robots can be directly controlled through a combination of manual and eye control. The novel control environment is demonstrated on a virtual biopsy of gastric lesion through an endoluminal approach. Twenty-one subjects were recruited to test the control environment. Statistical analysis was conducted on the completion time of the task using the keyboard control and the proposed eye tracking framework. System integration with the concept of perceptual docking framework demonstrated statistically significant improvement of task execution.

In this article we present a hybrid systems approach for fault tolerant control of robot manipulators. Our method is based on a combination of fault detection and isolation, control reconfiguration, and control algorithms. The contribution of this work is the construction of a hybrid automaton for control reconfiguration, whose discrete states indicate the number of failed joints, and whose dynamic states are the positions of the joints. With thie proposed method, it is possible to make the manipulator’s end-effector reach any Cartesian configuration inside its workspace irrespective of the number of joint failures. This is a significant property for manipulators operating in environments where actuator repair is too costly or impossible, such as in space or deep-sea. Experimental results with a 3-link planar manipulator illustrate the proposed method.

In robot-assisted procedures, the surgeon's ability can be enhanced by navigation guidance through the use of virtual fixtures or active constraints. This paper presents a real-time modeling scheme for dynamic active constraints with fast and simple mesh adaptation under cardiac deformation and changes in anatomic structure. A smooth tubular pathway is constructed which provides assistance for a flexible hyper-redundant robot to circumnavigate the heart with the aim of undertaking bilateral pulmonary vein isolation as part of a modified maze procedure for the treatment of debilitating arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation. In contrast to existing approaches, the method incorporates detailed geometrical constraints with explicit manipulation margins of the forbidden region for an entire articulated surgical instrument, rather than just the end-effector itself. Detailed experimental validation is conducted to demonstrate the speed and accuracy of the instrument navigation with and without the use of the proposed dynamic constraints.

Computer-based simulators offer users the opportunity to learn and practice surgical skills through repeated exercises within safe and realistic learning environments. This paper reports the development of a da Vinci Surgical System simulator, including the creation of a geometrical and kinematic model of the da Vinci system. The SensAble Phantom 3D interface has been improved with a new electromechanical gripper device to control both arms and instruments in a 3D virtual environment. A gripper has been developed to replace the standard stylus to clone positions, orientations and opening movements, with a design inspired by the handles of the da Vinci surgeon console. A simulation kernel has also been developed to ensure that motions are performed by inverse kinematics. The simulation of kinematic constraints, motions, and collisions will provide realistic training, which is essential for inexperienced users.

The dynamics of a rolling disk and a single wheel robot on an incline are derived and established respectively. The condition of rolling up is addressed. If the condition of rolling up is violated, a methodology of tracking is proposed. The system is stabilized around the position perpendicular to the surface. Simulation results are also provided.

The dynamics of a single wheel robot rolling without slipping on an inclined plane are investigated. The motion of a single wheel robot is analyzed using Lagrangian dynamics with no assumption that the robot is constrained to remain vertical. We linearized the dynamic model around the position perpendicular to the surface and proposed a state feedback controller for preventing the robot falling over. The backstepping control was designed to stabilize the robot following a straight path with a general heading angle. The feasibility and efficiency of the method are then validated by simulation study.