A Telerobotic System for Remote Surgical Collaboration with Communication Delays

During the last years, a new field has attracted the interest of robotic researchers. Minimally invasive techniques, such as laparoscopy, have grown as a very suitable domain for robotic systems. In this field, one of the easiest application for robotics is the movement of the endoscopic camera. That kind of robots [7][6] aims to move the camera from outside the patient’s abdomen to get the image the surgeon needs from the patient’s inside. This function has been traditionally performed by a human assistant, following the surgeon orders, for the latter to use his two hands for manipulation tasks. Since these procedures can last up to two (or even more) hours, the camera image can suffer a significant loss of stability, what can be prevented by the use of a robot arm [1]. Besides, it provides accurate movements to locate the optic within the abdominal cavity, and handles the endoscope with a steady hand during the surgical operation. A secondary use of these systems, and of many other Computer-Integrated Surgery (CIS) applications, is to extend the robot capabilities to the telesurgery paradigm. In general, robotized instruments can help us to achieve telesurgery, allowing an expert surgeon in a remote place (remote surgeon) to take part in the operation with some kind of telepresence devices. In this sense, Green [4] developed a different concept in order to explore the possibility of a telesurgery scheme, suitable not only for minimally invasive surgery but also for open surgery. This telesurgery concept was later enhanced and taken to a commercial stage by Intuitive Surgical’s Da Vinci system [5]. Remote control of such inspection systems are, however, especially useful for collaboration between specialist surgeons, for telementoring and for teleproctoring. Some of the problems for the diffusion of these tools are the need of operating room adaptation for placing the robot, the need of training the medical staff for managing the mentioned tools, their high cost and, in many cases, the complexity they add to the difficult task of surgical intervention. This work presents a robotic system to assist in laparoscopic surgery moving the camera both locally (by the use of verbal commands) and remotely (which implies working with communication delays). It is a very simple system, what provides a low cost and easy management. Some of the main characteristics of the system are its hardware and software modularity (for a configuration adapted to the application) and its wireless operation, what allows it to be moved manually and at any time, as well as to operate in practically any standard operating room, since it does not have to be plugged in the power supply network. The system also includes wireless voice/data communication media.