Usability Assessment of Two Different Control Modes for the Master Console of a Laparoscopic Surgical Robot

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate potential interface control modes for a compact four‐degree‐of‐freedom (4‐DOF) surgical robot. The goal is to improve robot usability by incorporating a sophisticated haptics‐capable interface. Two control modes were developed using a commercially available haptic joystick: (1) a virtually point‐constrained interface providing an analog for constrained laparoscopic motion (3‐DOF rotation and 1‐DOF translation), and (2) an unconstrained Cartesian input interface mapping more directly to the surgical tool tip motions. Subjects (n = 5) successfully performed tissue identification and manipulation tasks in an animal model in point‐constrained and unconstrained control modes, respectively, with speed roughly equal to that achieved in similar manual procedures, and without a steep learning curve. The robot control was evaluated through bench‐top tests and a subsequent qualitative questionnaire (n = 15). The results suggest that the unconstrained control mode was preferred for both camera guidance and tool manipulations.