Presentation
Human Factors Considerations for High-Latency Telesurgery: A Case Study of Telesurgery to the International Space Station
SessionRobotics Summit - Session 3
DescriptionThis presentation will discuss a telesurgery technology demonstration conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in February 2024. The experiments utilized a new miniature surgical robot and robotic endoscope camera. This device is a research version, called spaceMIRA, of a commercial robot that has recently obtained Market Authorization from the FDA for use in terrestrial applications. SpaceMIRA was packaged inside a small payload, the ISS’s Express Rack Locker, along with a task board that contained surgical exercises that could be completed in microgravity. The robot was controlled remotely by surgeons on Earth to complete simulated surgical tasks, through a live network connection with the ISS. These experiments were successful, with all surgical tasks being completed as planned.
Surgeon feedback was collected throughout the experiment. Post-exercise reflections were also collected. Latency obviously posed a significant challenge, clocking at over 800ms during some portions of the experiment. The surgeons were able to adapt well, at the expense of longer operative times. Several high-latency operative techniques emerged, including using probing touches and observing shadows for visual cues.
Because of the delay, the surgeons felt like more visual information was needed. The video feed from the robot was more compressed compared to normal operations for this experiment, which was not ideal from their perspective. The robot’s zoom function was appealing for this application, as it reduced the visual field to only the key information needed to complete the tasks. Depth perception (stereoscopic displays) would also aid in overcoming this hurdle and could be a point for future investigation. Lastly, having bright illumination was essential.
Every surgeon opted to use the robot’s motion-scaling functions to reduce the likelihood of overshooting their intended targets. For every increment of input, the robot’s output would be decreased by a scale of 2 or 4. This resulted in the surgeons traveling less distance with their surgical instruments (increased economy of motion) during the telesurgery and was critical to the completion of the experiment’s objectives. Lastly, there was an increased reliance on the heads-up informational overlays presented to the surgeon on the viewscreen, which aided in situational awareness.
Surgeon feedback was collected throughout the experiment. Post-exercise reflections were also collected. Latency obviously posed a significant challenge, clocking at over 800ms during some portions of the experiment. The surgeons were able to adapt well, at the expense of longer operative times. Several high-latency operative techniques emerged, including using probing touches and observing shadows for visual cues.
Because of the delay, the surgeons felt like more visual information was needed. The video feed from the robot was more compressed compared to normal operations for this experiment, which was not ideal from their perspective. The robot’s zoom function was appealing for this application, as it reduced the visual field to only the key information needed to complete the tasks. Depth perception (stereoscopic displays) would also aid in overcoming this hurdle and could be a point for future investigation. Lastly, having bright illumination was essential.
Every surgeon opted to use the robot’s motion-scaling functions to reduce the likelihood of overshooting their intended targets. For every increment of input, the robot’s output would be decreased by a scale of 2 or 4. This resulted in the surgeons traveling less distance with their surgical instruments (increased economy of motion) during the telesurgery and was critical to the completion of the experiment’s objectives. Lastly, there was an increased reliance on the heads-up informational overlays presented to the surgeon on the viewscreen, which aided in situational awareness.
Event Type
Robotics Workshop Submission
TimeSunday, March 302:15pm - 2:45pm EDT
LocationHarbour A/B