title: A virtual reality-based method of decreasing transmission time of visual feedback for a tele-operative robotic catheter operating system.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An Internet-based tele-operative robotic catheter operating system was designed for vascular interventional surgery, to afford unskilled surgeons the opportunity to learn basic catheter/guidewire skills, while allowing experienced physicians to perform surgeries cooperatively. Remote surgical procedures, limited by variable transmission times for visual feedback, have been associated with deterioration in operability and vascular wall damage during surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  At the patient's location, the catheter shape/position was detected in real time and converted into three-dimensional coordinates in a world coordinate system. At the operation location, the catheter shape was reconstructed in a virtual-reality environment, based on the coordinates received. The data volume reduction significantly reduced visual feedback transmission times.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Remote transmission experiments, conducted over inter-country distances, demonstrated the improved performance of the proposed prototype. The maximum error for the catheter shape reconstruction was 0.93 mm and the transmission time was reduced considerably.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results were positive and demonstrate the feasibility of remote surgery using conventional network infrastructures.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Engineering, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Intelligent Mechanical Systems Engineering Department, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.|School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shuxiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tamiya
authors.affiliation: Intelligent Mechanical Systems Engineering Department, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hirata
authors.affiliation: Intelligent Mechanical Systems Engineering Department, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishihara
mesh_terms: D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods*; D057785:Catheters; D056228:Feedback, Sensory / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D065287:Robotic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: image processing; remote transmission experiments; transmission time; vascular interventional surgery; virtual reality environment; visual feedback