Effect of Haptic-Interface Virtual Kinematics on the Performance and Preference of Novice Users in Telemanipulated Retinal Surgery

Abstract

Telemanipulated robot-assisted surgical procedures of the retina require precise manipulation of instruments inserted through trocars in the sclera. However, there is not a unique mapping of the motions of the surgeon's hand to the lower-dimensional motions of the instrument through the trocar, and it is not obvious what method would be best. In this letter, we study operator performance during a precision positioning task reminiscent of telemanipulated retinal surgery on a force-sensing phantom retina with three viable and previously considered options for the hapticinterface kinematics. The haptic-interface kinematics are implemented virtually, in software, on a PHANTOM Premium 6DOF haptic interface. Results from a study with 12 novice human subjects show that overall performance is best with the kinematics that represent a compact and inexpensive option, and that subjects' subjective preference agrees with the objective performance results.