HSMR21 Workshop- ‘Raven/DVRK Surgical Robotics Research’

The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics (HSMR) is now in its 13th year and has provided an annual forum for surgeons and engineers from across the globe to network and explore the latest developments in medical robotics. Every year researchers, clinicians and engineers are invited to submit papers on a range of topics covering clinical specialities in Urology, Cardiac Surgery, Neuro Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, General Surgery, Gynaecology, ENT, Orthopaedic and Paediatric Surgery.

This year we plan to build beyond the previous achievements and take the symposium to even higher successes with the theme of ‘Surgery and Beyond’. We have already received full CPD accreditation from the Royal College of Surgeons and to complement this we are planning a programme with increased focus on clinical practitioner centered talks, workshops and presentations.

Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics 2021: Workshop

Objectives

This is the Hamlyn Special Session of an online-only series for sharing within the common platform community. The overall theme is experimental minimally-invasive surgical robotics research, typically, but not limited to, work on the Raven and dVRK platforms.

This session includes presentations that focus on two primary themes for the use of computer assistance in robotic surgery: (1) to improve surgeon task performance, and (2) to provide autonomous capabilities.

One method to improve surgeon performance is through better training platforms, such as the presented sensorized physical simulator that provides additional feedback (in this case, force) during training that is not available during surgery. Another presented approach is to use machine learning to estimate the missing feedback (e.g.,force) from other sensor data and to study how this estimated feedback affects surgeon performance.

Automation of surgical tasks relies on perception of the surgical environment, which can be enabled by the presented method for 3D reconstruction from multiple viewpoints. It will also rely on the ability to manipulate soft tissue, as discussed in the context of deformable object manipulation. Furthermore, it may be necessary to teach surgical tasks to the robot, such as in the presented method for learning from demonstration for autonomous bimanual suturing. Finally, automation of assistive tasks, such as the presented system for applying suction, can reduce cognitive load for the surgeon.

Learning Outcomes

By completing this workshop, participants will gain knowledge about open platforms used for medical robotics research, as well as the following current research topics:

• Perception of the surgical environment via 3D reconstruction from multiple viewpoints
• Methods for estimating interaction forces in minimally-invasive robotic surgery, and haptic performance using these methods
• Learning from demonstration for autonomous bimanual suturing
• Improving surgeon training through use of a realistic sensorized physical simulator
• An autonomous robotic assistant for suction during robotic surgery
• A control framework for autonomous deformable object manipulation using non-fixed contact

Symposium Format

This session will be 1.5 hours in length, with approximately 4-6 presentations. Planned themes include:

1. Perception and Automation in surgical robotics
2. Novel surgical instruments for surgical robots
3. Other topics as submitted including but not limited to
   • Teleoperation
   • Human-Robot Interactions in surgery
   • Computational, sensing, and robotic approaches to surgical skill assessment

Agenda

All times are US Eastern (EST). Order of presentations subject to change.

This workshop is worth 1.5 CPD point, please register to qualify for certification.