A laparoscopic telesurgical workstation

Medical robotics and computer aided surgery in general, and robotic telesurgery in particular, are promising applications of robotics. In this paper, various aspects of telesurgery are studied. After a general introduction to laparoscopic surgery and medical applications of robotics, the UC Berkeley/Endorobotics Inc./UC San Francisco Telesurgical Workstation, a master-slave telerobotic system for laparoscopic surgery, is introduced, followed by its kinematic analysis, control, and experimental results. Later some conceptual and future issues on telesurgery are discussed, including teleoperation and hybrid control, focusing on the special requirements of telesurgery.