SIKASurg - Scenario-based interaction and cooperation patterns of sensorimotor assistance systems for synergistic surgical robots
Since the introduction of robots into surgery in the 1980s, an estimated 5,000 different systems for computer-assisted surgery have been developed, and the number of commercial systems continues to grow. Initially, there was a clear separation between semi-active robots, which only positioned tool guides, and active systems, in which the human operator, for example, supervised an automated milling process. Today, assistance and automation in cooperative (synergistic) robotic systems are regarded as closely intertwined, with humans and machines assuming different roles as needed.
In modern surgical robotics, a distinction is therefore made between passive, semi-active, synergistic, and active systems, each with different degrees of autonomy and areas of application. The variety of combinations that arise leads to a multitude of technical system solutions.
With regard to the mechanical requirements for a surgical robotics system, a modular system design has already proven useful. A similarly modular design is therefore desirable on the functional side as well, so that, based on the requirements of the respective application, appropriate control modes can be selected and switched between as the situation requires. If this modular design is considered in combination with the current trend in the operating room (OR) toward a open, modular networking of medical devices, then a flexible overall system with an optimized cost–benefit ratio could promote the spread of surgical robots in the future. However, to enable a functionally modular system design, it is necessary to understand which scenarios particular interaction and cooperation patterns are suitable for, and under what conditions these lead to increased risks.
Funding
The work carried out as part of the SIKASurg project is supported by the German Research Foundation (GZ: RA 548/24-1).
In the SIKASurg project, therefore, the investigation and characterization of parameterized interaction profiles will be used to establish a foundation for the efficient design and risk management of human–machine interfaces for synergistic surgical robotic systems. This will create the basis for standardized interface profiles (Medical Device User Interface Profiles – MDUIP) as part of the technical (overall) device profiles according to ISO/IEEE 11073. In the long term, this can pave the way to functionally modular system design in the openly networked operating room.
The initial focus is on the processing of bony structures in orthopedics and neurosurgery, while the project will also examine the transferability of the results to other fields of application such as ENT and oral and maxillofacial surgery. The aim is to evaluate, on a scenario basis, the use of different robotic systems and assistance functions for bone surgery and to systematically improve human–machine interaction. To this end, existing scenario-based interaction patterns for cooperation with surgical robots will be taken up and further developed, in terms of safety and performance, by varying multimodal user interfaces, performance-defining constraints, and factors that favor errors. The results will be compiled in a catalog of parameterized interaction patterns and validated with regard to their usability for comparable surgical applications.
Synergistic surgical robot MINARO-DRS (dual robot system) for milling bone structures in neurosurgery, using laminectomy as an example
MINARO test bench for fundamental research into human-machine interaction
Partner
- Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics (IAM), RWTH Aachen University (Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Verena Nitsch)