Virtual Fixture Assistance for Suturing in Robot-Aided Pediatric Endoscopic Surgery

TL;DR

This paper introduces virtual fixture guidance methods to improve the precision and safety of suturing in pediatric endoscopic surgery, addressing workspace constraints and collision avoidance using constrained optimization and force feedback.

Contribution

It presents two novel virtual fixture guidance techniques tailored for pediatric endoscopic suturing, enhancing safety and accuracy in constrained environments.

Findings

Improved suturing precision in simulations and experiments.

Enhanced safety through collision avoidance.

Effective guidance methods for pediatric robotic surgery.

Abstract

The limited workspace in pediatric endoscopic surgery makes surgical suturing one of the most difficult tasks. During suturing, surgeons have to prevent collisions between tools and also collisions with the surrounding tissues. Surgical robots have been shown to be effective in adult laparoscopy, but assistance for suturing in constrained workspaces has not been yet fully explored. In this letter, we propose guidance virtual fixtures to enhance the performance and the safety of suturing while generating the required task constraints using constrained optimization and Cartesian force feedback. We propose two guidance methods: looping virtual fixtures and a trajectory guidance cylinder, that are based on dynamic geometric elements. In simulations and experiments with a physical robot, we show that the proposed methods achieve a more precise and safer looping in robot-assisted pediatric endoscopy.