title: Gaze-contingent motor channelling and haptic constraints for minimally invasive robotic surgery.
abstract: The use of master-slave surgical robots for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) has created a physical separation between the surgeon and the patient. Reconnecting the essential visuomotor sensory feedback is important for the safe practice of robotic assisted MIS procedures. This paper introduces a novel gaze contingent framework with real-time haptic feedback by transforming visual sensory information into physical constraints that can interact with the motor sensory channel. We demonstrate how motor tracking of deforming tissue can be made more effective and accurate through the concept of gaze-contingent motor channelling. The method also uses 3D eye gaze to dynamically prescribe and update safety boundaries during robotic assisted MIS without prior knowledge of the soft-tissue morphology. Initial validation results on both simulated and robotic assisted phantom procedures demonstrate the potential clinical value of the technique.
authors.affiliation: Royal Society/Wolfson Medical Image Computing Laboratory, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom. george.mylonas@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: George P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Mylonas
authors.forename: Ka-Wai
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Kwok
authors.forename: Ara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darzi
authors.forename: Guang-Zhong
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D032701:Biomimetics / Q000379:methods; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008328:Man-Machine Systems; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012371:Robotics / Q000379:methods*; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D014110:Touch; D014584:User-Computer Interface