Ensuring communication redundancy and establishing a telementoring system for robotic telesurgery using multiple communication lines

Abstract

Assuring communication redundancy during the interruption and establishing appropriate teaching environments for local surgeons are essential to making robotic telesurgery mainstream. This study analyzes robotic telesurgery with telementoring using standard domestic telecommunication carriers. Can multiple carriers guarantee redundancy with interruptions? Three commercial optical fiber lines connected Hirosaki University and Mutsu General Hospitals, 150 km apart. Using Riverfield, Inc. equipment, Hirosaki had a cockpit, while both Mutsu used both a cockpit and a surgeon’s console. Experts provided telementoring evaluating 14 trainees, using objective indices for operation time and errors. Subjective questionnaires addressed image quality and surgical operability. Eighteen participants performed telesurgery using combined lines from two/three telecommunication carriers. Manipulation: over 30 min, lines were cut and restored every three minutes per task. Subjects were to press a switch when noticing image quality or operability changes. Mean time to task completion was 1510 (1186–1960) seconds: local surgeons alone and 1600 (1152–2296) seconds for those under remote instructor supervision, including expert intervention time. There was no significant difference (p = 0.86). The mean error count was 0.92 (0–3) for local surgeons and 0.42 (0–2) with remote instructors. Image quality and operability questionnaires found no significant differences. Results communication companies A, B, and C: the A/B combination incurred 0.17 (0–1) presses of the environment change switch, B/C had 0, and C/A received 0.67 (0–3), showing no significant difference among provider combinations. Combining multiple communication lines guarantees communication redundancy and enables robotic telementoring with enhanced communication security.