Task analysis of laparoscopic camera control schemes.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive surgeries rely on laparoscopic camera views to guide the procedure. Traditionally, an expert surgical assistant operates the camera. In some cases, a robotic system is used to help position the camera, but the surgeon is required to direct all movements of the system. Some prior research has focused on developing automated robotic camera control systems, but that work has been limited to rudimentary control schemes due to a lack of understanding of how the camera should be moved for different surgical tasks. METHODS: This research used task analysis with a sample of eight expert surgeons to discover and document several salient methods of camera control and their related task contexts. RESULTS: Desired camera placements and behaviours were established for two common surgical subtasks (suturing and knot tying). CONCLUSION: The results can be used to develop better robotic control algorithms that will be more responsive to surgeons' needs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Towards an autonomous robot for camera control during laparoscopic surgery.

INTRODUCTION: During laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon currently must instruct a human camera operator or a robotic arm to move the camera. This process is distracting, and the camera is not always placed in an ideal location. To mitigate these problems, we have developed a test platform that tracks laparoscopic instruments and automatically moves a camera with no explicit human direction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The test platform is designed to mimic a typical laparoscopic working environment, where two hand-operated tools are manipulated through small ports. A pan-tilt-zoom camera is positioned over the tools, which emulates the positioning capabilities of a straight (0°) scope placed through a trocar. A camera control algorithm automatically keeps the tools in the view. In addition, two test tasks that require camera movement have been developed to aid in future evaluation of the system. RESULTS: The system was found to successfully track the laparoscopic instruments in the camera view as intended. The camera is moved and zoomed to follow the instruments in a smooth and consistent fashion. CONCLUSIONS: This technology shows that it is possible to create an autonomous camera system that cooperates with a surgeon without requiring any explicit user input. However, the currently implemented camera control behaviors are not ideal or sufficient for many surgical tasks. Future work will be performed to develop, test, and refine more complex behaviors that are optimized for different kinds of surgical tasks. In addition, portions of the test platform will be redesigned to enable its use in actual laparoscopic procedures.