title: Vision-based real-time position control of a semi-automated system for robot-assisted joint fracture surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Joint fracture surgery quality can be improved by robotic system with high-accuracy and high-repeatability fracture fragment manipulation. A new real-time vision-based system for fragment manipulation during robot-assisted fracture surgery was developed and tested.
  
  
  METHODS
  The control strategy was accomplished by merging fast open-loop control with vision-based control. This two-phase process is designed to eliminate the open-loop positioning errors by closing the control loop using visual feedback provided by an optical tracking system. Evaluation of the control system accuracy was performed using robot positioning trials, and fracture reduction accuracy was tested in trials on ex vivo porcine model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The system resulted in high fracture reduction reliability with a reduction accuracy of 0.09 mm (translations) and of [Formula: see text] (rotations), maximum observed errors in the order of 0.12 mm (translations) and of [Formula: see text] (rotations), and a reduction repeatability of 0.02 mm and [Formula: see text].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proposed vision-based system was shown to be effective and suitable for real joint fracture surgical procedures, contributing a potential improvement of their quality.
authors.affiliation: Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK. giulio.dagnino@fastwebnet.it.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dagnino
authors.affiliation: Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Georgilas
authors.affiliation: Bristol Royal Infirmary, Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol, BS2 8HW, UK.
authors.forename: Payam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tarassoli
authors.affiliation: Bristol Royal Infirmary, Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol, BS2 8HW, UK.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Atkins
authors.affiliation: Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK.
authors.forename: Sanja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dogramadzi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D057072:Intra-Articular Fractures / Q000601:surgery*; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D055096:Optical Devices; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D065287:Robotic Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013552:Swine
keywords: Fracture surgery; Medical robotics; Real-time control; Robot-assisted surgery; Vision-based control