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The role of tactile feedback in grip force during laparoscopic training tasks

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Abstract

Background

Laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery has revolutionized surgical care by reducing trauma to the patient, thereby decreasing the need for medication and shortening recovery times. During open procedures, surgeons can directly feel tissue characteristics. However, in laparoscopic surgery, tactile feedback during grip is attenuated and limited to the resistance felt in the tool handle. Excessive grip force during laparoscopic surgery can lead to tissue damage. Providing additional supplementary tactile feedback may allow subjects to have better control of grip force and identification of tissue characteristics, potentially decreasing the learning curve associated with complex minimally invasive techniques.

Methods

A tactile feedback system has been developed and integrated into a modified laparoscopic grasper that allows forces applied at the grasper tips to be felt by the surgeon’s hands. In this study, 15 subjects (11 novices, 4 experts) were asked to perform single-handed peg transfers using these laparoscopic graspers in three trials (feedback OFF, ON, OFF). Peak and average grip forces (newtons) during each grip event were measured and compared using a Wilcoxon ranked test in which each subject served as his or her own control.

Results

After activating the tactile feedback system, the novice subject population showed significant decreases in grip force (p < 0.003). When the system was deactivated for the third trial, there were significant increases in grip force (p < 0.003). Expert subjects showed no significant improvements with the addition of tactile feedback (p > 0.05 in all cases).

Conclusion

Supplementary tactile feedback helped novice subjects reduce grip force during the laparoscopic training task but did not offer improvements for the four expert subjects. This indicates that tactile feedback may be beneficial for laparoscopic training but has limited long-term use in the nonrobotic setting.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the funding provided by the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC)/Department of Defense under award number W81XWH-07-1-0672, and the funding from the National Science Foundation under award number CBET-0730213. The authors thank Dr. Shane White and Dalene Sederstrom for use of the Instron, as well as Brett Jordan and Will Pannel for assistance with manufacture of the specialized tool handles.

Disclosures

Christopher R. Wottawa, Jeremiah R. Cohen, Richard E. Fan, James W. Bisley, Martin O. Culjat, Warren S. Grundfest, and Erik P. Dutson have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCLA Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT), Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Christopher R. Wottawa, Jeremiah R. Cohen, Richard E. Fan, James W. Bisley, Martin O. Culjat, Warren S. Grundfest & Erik P. Dutson

  2. UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, 5121 Engineering V, P.O. Box 915600, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Christopher R. Wottawa & Warren S. Grundfest

  3. UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jeremiah R. Cohen & Erik P. Dutson

  4. Department of Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Richard E. Fan, Martin O. Culjat & Erik P. Dutson

  5. Department of Neurobiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    James W. Bisley

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  1. Christopher R. Wottawa
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  2. Jeremiah R. Cohen
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Correspondence to Christopher R. Wottawa.

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Wottawa, C.R., Cohen, J.R., Fan, R.E. et al. The role of tactile feedback in grip force during laparoscopic training tasks. Surg Endosc 27, 1111–1118 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-012-2612-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-012-2612-x

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