Usefulness of three-dimensional imaging in a flexible endoscopic surgery platform with multi-degrees-of-freedom articulating devices.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Recent studies on endoscopic submucosal dissection have aimed to reduce the difficulty of the procedure by using multi-degrees-of-freedom articulating devices. In this study, we evaluated the usefulness of adding three-dimensional (3D) video imaging into simulated endoscopic submucosal dissection tasks using multi-degrees-of-freedom devices. METHODS: We designed an endoscopic platform with a 3D camera and two multi-degrees-of-freedom devices. Four ex vivo bench tasks were created, and a crossover study comparing 2D and 3D conditions was conducted on 15 volunteers. In each task, performance such as procedure time and accuracy were objectively evaluated. Additionally, a comprehensive visual analogue scale questionnaire was conducted. RESULTS: In the tasks simulating submucosal flap grasping, marking, and full-area incision, the use of 3D imaging significantly improved the speed and accuracy of the multi-degrees-of-freedom device manipulation (p < .01). No significant differences were observed in the task that simulated the dissection procedure. Furthermore, it appears that the accuracy of recognizing curved surfaces may be reduced in the 3D environment. Operators reported subjective increases in recognizability and operability with the 3D camera, along with an increase in asthenopia (p < .01). CONCLUSIONS: 3D vision improves the technical accuracy of certain simulated multi-degrees-of-freedom endoscopic submucosal dissection tasks and subjectively improved operating conditions, at the cost of increased eye strain.

Three-Dimensional Position Presentation Via Head and Waist Vibrotactile Arrays.

This paper introduces a novel system designed to convey the three-dimensional positions surrounding the user. The system incorporates circumferential vibrotactile arrays strategically positioned on both the user's head and waist. Through the synergy of this two-dimensional arrangement and modulations in vibration amplitude, the system adeptly presents comprehensive three-dimensional positional information. Two prototypes, namely a spherical model and a cylindrical model, were employed as mappings between three-dimensional positions and vibration amplitudes. In Experiment 1, we evaluated the system's performance in indicating positions in depth, orientation, and height. Notably, discrimination rates for depth (Task 1) and orientation (Task 2) were 60% and 54%, respectively. Regarding height discrimination in the head-to-waist condition (Tasks 3 and 4), the cylindrical model outperformed the spherical model (54% and 52% vs. 32% and 36%). Conversely, in the head-above and waist-below condition (Task 5), the cylindrical model achieved a discrimination rate of 45%, while the spherical model did not. In Experiment 2, we explored the use of the cylindrical model to convey a moving three-dimensional position. The results showed an impressive 81% correct response rate, affirming the system's effectiveness in presenting three-dimensional motion stimuli.

A Novel Method for Surface Exploration by 6-DOF Encountered-Type Haptic Display Towards Virtual Palpation.

Surface exploration in virtual reality has a large potential to enrich the user's experience. It could for example be used to train and simulate medical palpation. During palpation, users tap, indent, and rub the surface of a sample to estimate the underlying properties. However, up to now there is no good approach to render such intricate interaction realistically. This paper introduces 6 degrees of freedom (DoF) encountered-type haptic display technology for simulating surface exploration tasks. Among the different phases of exploration, this article focuses on the 'in-contact sliding' phase. Two novel control approaches to render sliding over a virtual surface are elaborated. A first rendering method generates lateral frictional forces as the finger slides over the surface. A second method adjusts the inclination of the end-effector to render tissue properties. With both methods a stiff nodule embedded in a soft tissue was prepared. User experiments were carried out to find proper parameter and intensity ranges and to confirm the feasibility of the new rendering schemes. Participants indicated that both rendering schemes felt realistic. Compared to earlier work, where only the vertical stiffness was altered, lower thresholds to detect and localise embedded virtual nodules were found. Users also made fewer errors in detecting nodule edges. Furthermore, the method that used end-effector inclination allowed faster discovery of the nodule's edges. It is expected that approaches that combine both rendering methods could provide an even more realistic feel.

Benchmarking Protocols for Evaluating Small Parts Robotic Assembly Systems.

This paper presents a set of performance metrics, test methods, and associated artifacts to help progress the development and deployment of robotic assembly systems. The designs for three task board artifacts that replicate small part insertion and fastening operations such as threading, snap fitting, and meshing with standard screws, nuts, washers, gears, electrical connectors, belt drives, and wiring are presented. To support the evaluation of robotic assembly and disassembly operations, benchmarking protocols and performance metrics are presented that leverage these task boards. Finally, robot competitions are discussed as use cases for these task boards.

Practicality Assessment of the Improved ICT-Based Dementia Care Mapping Support System.

OBJECTIVES: Authors have developed an ICT (Information-Communication Technology)-based Dementia Care Mapping (DCM™) support system and assessed its usefulness previously using videos. The aim of this study is to evaluate practicality of the improved support system by actual mapping. METHODS: We obtained highly reliable mapping data by a team of 3 mappers (M1, M2, and M3), who mapped 5 elderly people with dementia continuously over 4 hours in 2 sites. M1 mapped by conventional paper-based DCM™, while M2 and M3 mapped using the support system. Collected mapping data (n = 8, total of 232.5 hours = 2790 time frames) were compared. RESULTS: The concordance rates between M1 and M2/M3 were over 70%; the required level for DCM™ evaluation purposes, with 1 exception. We also obtained users' positive ratings regarding the system usability. CONCLUSION: Practicality of the ICT-based DCM™ support system was confirmed for evaluation purposes, demonstrating the system is ready for practical use.

Steering bends and changing lanes: The impact of optic flow and road edges on two point steering control.

Successful driving involves steering corrections that respond to immediate positional errors while also anticipating upcoming changes to the road layout ahead. In popular steering models these tasks are often treated as separate functions using two points: the near region for correcting current errors, and the far region for anticipating future steering requirements. Whereas two-point control models can capture many aspects of driver behavior, the nature of perceptual inputs to these two "points" remains unclear. Inspired by experiments that solely focused on road-edge information (Land & Horwood, 1995), two-point models have tended to ignore the role of optic flow during steering control. There is recent evidence demonstrating that optic flow should be considered within two-point control steering models (Mole, Kountouriotis, Billington, & Wilkie, 2016). To examine the impact of optic flow and road edges on two-point steering control we used a driving simulator to selectively and systematically manipulate these components. We removed flow and/or road-edge information from near or far regions of the scene, and examined how behaviors changed when steering along roads where the utility of far-road information varied. While steering behaviors were strongly influenced by the road-edges, there were also clear contributions of optic flow to steering responses. The patterns of steering were not consistent with optic flow simply feeding into two-point control; rather, the global optic flow field appeared to support effective steering responses across the time-course of each trajectory.