Characteristics of hand motion of eye surgeons

Abstract

Overall manual accuracy and motion frequency in simulated microsurgery have been studied. Eye surgeons were tested in two tasks: attempting to hold an instrument still, and repeatedly actuating. Rms error and overall motion range were measured. Spectral analysis was also performed. The average rms error was 49 µm and 133 µm, respectively, for the two test conditions, and the average range of motion while trying to hold still was 202 µm. Substantial low frequency motion occurred under both conditions. On average, 98.9% of the total power of voluntary movements tested was found to be below 2 Hz.

Robot-assisted intraocular surgery: development of the IRISS and feasibility studies in an animal model

“…Previous reports state that the maximum hand tremor of vitreoretinal surgeons during intraocular procedures exceeds 100 mm. 21,[25][26][27] However, microcannulation into retinal vessels with a diameter of B200 mm would require an accuracy of nearly 10 mm. Successful completion of such a task may be indicative of the robot's potential to perform other high-dexterity functions, such as an epiretinal membrane peel.…”

Performance Evaluation of a Cooperative Manipulation Microsurgical Assistant Robot Applied to Stapedotomy

“…The need for microsurgical assistants arises from the normal limitations of human dexterity resulting from tremor, jerk, drift, and overshoot [1,2]. Recently developed robotic assistant devices offer the possibility of extending human performance to permit fine manipulation tasks that are normally considered difficult orimpossible [3,4,5,6,7,8,9].…”

Robot‐Assisted Stapedotomy: Micropick Fenestration of the Stapes Footplate

“…Schuknecht 1 noted that otologic surgery poses particular challenges in requiring viewing of an instrument's tip along its axis. Although surgeons possess greater manual dexterity than nonsurgeons, human limitations in dexterity 2 and tactile sensitivity 3 continue to complicate and constrain microsurgical procedures.…”

“…Physiologic tremor typically manifests as 10-Hz sinusoidal movements and along with low-frequency drift has been shown to affect task performance for microsurgeons. 2 With the SH robot, the surgeon feels like he or she is moving the instrument in a viscous fluid. For certain tasks, the SH robot has been shown to enhance dexterity.…”