Multimodal Sensorimotor Integration for Expert-in-the-Loop Telerobotic Surgical Training

This paper presents a novel multimodal training platform integrated with hand-over-hand (HOH) haptic guidance for dual-console surgical robotic systems such as the da Vinci Si system. The expert-in-the-loop (EIL) framework incorporates a fuzzy interface system in order to provide a trainee with adaptive authority over the procedure as well as hand-over-hand haptic guidance adjusted in real time based on the proficiency level of the trainee. The EIL expertise-oriented framework enables performance of a surgical procedure by an expert surgeon on a patient, while simultaneously providing a trainee at any stage of the motor-skills development with multimodal training without jeopardizing patient safety. Closed-loop stability of the system is investigated using the circle criterion and it is shown that the proposed architecture is unconditionally stable. Experimental evaluations are presented in support of the proposed platform through the implementation of a dual-console surgical setup consisting of the classic da Vinci surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA) and the dV-Trainer master console (Mimic Technology, Inc., Seattle, WA, USA). To the best of our knowledge, the implemented setup is the first research platform for dual-console studies involving the classic da Vinci surgical system.