Preliminary design of a robotic system for kinaesthetic training of surgical tasks

Abstract

This study aims to develop a robotic system human–machine interaction (HMI) to facilitate surgical training through visual and kinaesthetic feedbacks. This is motivated by the pressing need for effective surgical training and the unaddressed gaps in existing surgical training simulator for minimally invasive procedures. This study establishes the design concept and scope for development to facilitate the required HMI training model. Subsequently, implementation and demonstration of the model is carried out with analytical experiments to assess the feasibility of the proposed concept. The design concept of the robotic system for training is demonstrated through an user experiment. Results suggest viability and observable benefits in the authors’ proposed kinaesthetic HMI guidance for the trainee. Potential impact of this study includes the development of a novel training paradigm that engages trainees through collaborative training facilitated by human trainers and active kinaesthetic simulation. Although motivated by surgical training applications, the concept developed in this study can potentially be extended for general motor skill learning.