title: Surgeon workload and motion efficiency with robot and human laparoscopic camera control.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Surgeons are now being assisted by robotic systems in a wide range of laparoscopic procedures. Some reports have suggested that robot-assisted camera control (RACC) may be superior to a human driver in terms of quality of view and directional precision, as well as long-term cost savings. Therefore, we setout to investigate the impact of RACC of surgeon motion efficiency.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty pigs were randomized to undergo a standardized laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication with either a human or RACC system, the AESOP 2000. All procedures were performed by the same surgical fellow. Time was recorded for dissection and suture phases. Inertial motion sensors were used to monitor both the surgeon's hands and the camera. Digitized data were analyzed to produce summary measures related to overall motion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The operative times were slightly longer with RACC (mean 80.2 +/- 20.6 vs 73.1 +/- 15.4 min, not significant). With regard to operative times and surgeon motion measures, the only statistically significant differences were for setup and breakdown times, which contributed <15% to the total time for the procedure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In terms of impact on surgeon motion efficiency and operative time under normal surgical conditions, RACC is essentially the same as an expert human driver. However, careful planning and structuring of the surgical suite may yield some small gains in operative time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Southwestern Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390-9092, USA. gvk@hpi.uta.edu
authors.forename: G V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Kondraske
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Tesfay
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Taneja
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004526:Efficiency; D018662:Fundoplication / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D020706:Laparoscopes; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012371:Robotics / Q000379:methods*; D013552:Swine; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013996:Time and Motion Studies; D020535:Video-Assisted Surgery / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016526:Workload