MAXIMIZING THE SENSATION OF COMPLIANCE IN TELEOPERATIVE SURGERY

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) can be of great bene t to the patient, but places great demands on the surgeon's perceptual motor skills. Teleoperation technology can restore some of the lost dexterity and sensation in MIS. In this paper, we describe (a) experiments to determine human capability to discriminate changes in compliance displayed through a haptic interface and (b) analysis of teleoperator control algorithms to optimize the transmission of compliance. The paradigm used in both cases is the ability to detect a change in compliance of a surface, as would occur due to a lesion or vessel embedded in soft tissue. It is shown that sensitivity to sinusoidal variations in compliance across a surface at high spatial frequencies is much better than discrimination between two compliant surfaces. A new metric for teleoperator performance is introduced which optimizes the transmission of changes in compliance while maintaining adequate stability and tracking accuracy.