Point of care ultrasound screening for deep vein thrombosis in critically ill COVID-19 patients, an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is common in critically ill patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and may cause fatal pulmonary embolism (PE) prior to diagnosis due to subtle clinical symptoms. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of bedside screening for DVT in critically ill COVID-19 patients performed by physicians with limited experience of venous ultrasound. We further aimed to compare inflammation, coagulation and organ dysfunction in patients with and without venous thromboembolism (VTE). METHODS: This observational study included patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary hospital in Sweden and screened for DVT with proximal compression ultrasound of the lower extremities between April and July 2020. Screening was performed by ICU residents having received a short online education and one hands-on-session. Pathological screening ultrasound was confirmed by formal ultrasound whereas patients with negative screening underwent formal ultrasound on clinical suspicion. Clinical data, laboratory findings and follow-up were extracted from medical records. RESULTS: Of 90 eligible patients, 56 were screened by seven ICU residents with no (n = 5) or limited (n = 2) previous experience of DVT ultrasound who performed a median of 4 (IQR 2-19) examinations. Four (7.1%) patients had pathological screening ultrasound of which three (5.6%) were confirmed by formal ultrasound. None of the 52 patients with negative screening ultrasound were diagnosed with DVT during follow-up. Six patients were diagnosed with PE of which four prior to negative screening and two following negative and positive screening respectively. Patients with VTE (n = 8) had higher median peak D-dimer (24.0 (IQR 14.2-50.5) vs. 2.8 (IQR 1.7-7.2) mg/L, p = 0.004), mean peak C-reactive protein (363 (SD 80) vs. 285 (SD 108) mg/L, p = 0.033) and median peak plasma creatinine (288 (IQR 131-328) vs. 94 (IQR 78-131) µmol/L, p = 0.009) compared to patients without VTE (n = 48). Five patients (63%) with VTE received continuous renal replacement therapy compared to six patients (13%) without VTE (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: ICU residents with no or limited experience could detect DVT with ultrasound in critically ill COVID-19 patients following a short education. VTE was associated with kidney dysfunction and features of hyperinflammation and hypercoagulation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials ID: NCT04316884 . Registered 20 March 2020.

Awake prone positioning in patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19: the PROFLO multicenter randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The effect of awake prone positioning on intubation rates is not established. The aim of this trial was to investigate if a protocol for awake prone positioning reduces the rate of endotracheal intubation compared with standard care among patients with moderate to severe hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter randomized clinical trial. Adult patients with confirmed COVID-19, high-flow nasal oxygen or noninvasive ventilation for respiratory support and a PaO2/FiO2 ratio ≤ 20 kPa were randomly assigned to a protocol targeting 16 h prone positioning per day or standard care. The primary endpoint was intubation within 30 days. Secondary endpoints included duration of awake prone positioning, 30-day mortality, ventilator-free days, hospital and intensive care unit length of stay, use of noninvasive ventilation, organ support and adverse events. The trial was terminated early due to futility. RESULTS: Of 141 patients assessed for eligibility, 75 were randomized of whom 39 were allocated to the control group and 36 to the prone group. Within 30 days after enrollment, 13 patients (33%) were intubated in the control group versus 12 patients (33%) in the prone group (HR 1.01 (95% CI 0.46-2.21), P = 0.99). Median prone duration was 3.4 h [IQR 1.8-8.4] in the control group compared with 9.0 h per day [IQR 4.4-10.6] in the prone group (P = 0.014). Nine patients (23%) in the control group had pressure sores compared with two patients (6%) in the prone group (difference - 18% (95% CI - 2 to - 33%); P = 0.032). There were no other differences in secondary outcomes between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The implemented protocol for awake prone positioning increased duration of prone positioning, but did not reduce the rate of intubation in patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19 compared to standard care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN54917435. Registered 15 June 2020 ( https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN54917435 ).

High-flow nasal cannula versus face mask for preoxygenation in obese patients: A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Preoxygenation efficacy with high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in obese patients is not clearly established. The primary aim of this study was to compare heated, humidified, high-flow nasal cannula with face mask for preoxygenation in this population. METHODS: We conducted a single-centre, randomised, controlled trial. Forty subjects with BMI ≥ 35 kg m-2 were randomly assigned to receive 5.0 min of preoxygenation with face mask and 7 cm H2 O of PEEP (PEEP group) or HFNC at 70 L min-1 (HF group). Following induction, bag-mask ventilation continued until laryngoscopy, whereas HFNC was maintained before and during intubation. The primary outcomes were end-tidal fraction of oxygen (EtO2 ) at 2.5 and 5.0 min duration of preoxygenation. Secondary outcomes included PaO2 and PaCO2 at 2.5 and 5.0 min of preoxygenation and at intubation. RESULTS: Mean (±SD) EtO2 was 0.89 (±0.04) versus 0.90 (±0.05) after 2.5 min (95% CI for mean difference -0.02, 0.04) and 0.93 (±0.02) versus 0.91 (±0.02) after 5.0 min of preoxygenation (95% CI for mean difference -0.03, -0.002) in the PEEP (n = 18) and HF group (n = 20), respectively. All subjects reached an EtO2  ≥ 0.85 at 5.0 min. There were no differences in mean PaO2 or PaCO2 during preoxygenation. Subjects in the HF group had a mean (±SD) apnoea time of 199 (±38) s, but no desaturation (SpO2  < 100%) occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Face mask with PEEP was superior to HFNC for preoxygenation in obese subjects. HFNC provided adequate preoxygenation quality in all subjects and may be considered as an alternative to face mask in selected patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: #ISRCTN37375068 (www.isrctn.com).

SCADE: Simultaneous Sensor Calibration and Deformation Estimation of FBG-Equipped Unmodeled Continuum Manipulators.

In this article, we present a novel stochastic algorithm called simultaneous sensor calibration and deformation estimation (SCADE) to address the problem of modeling deformation behavior of a generic continuum manipulator (CM) in free and obstructed environments. In SCADE, using a novel mathematical formulation, we introduce a priori model-independent filtering algorithm to fuse the continuous and inaccurate measurements of an embedded sensor (e.g., magnetic or piezoelectric sensors) with an intermittent but accurate data of an external imaging system (e.g., optical trackers or cameras). The main motivation of this article is the crucial need of obtaining an accurate shape/position estimation of a CM utilized in a surgical intervention. In these robotic procedures, the CM is typically equipped with an embedded sensing unit (ESU) while an external imaging modality (e.g., ultrasound or a fluoroscopy machine) is also available in the surgical site. The results of two different set of prior experiments in free and obstructed environments were used to evaluate the efficacy of SCADE algorithm. The experiments were performed with a CM specifically designed for orthopaedic interventions equipped with an inaccurate Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) ESU and overhead camera. The results demonstrated the successful performance of the SCADE algorithm in simultaneous estimation of unknown deformation behavior of the utilized unmodeled CM together with realizing the time-varying drift of the poor-calibrated FBG sensing unit. Moreover, the results showed the phenomenal out-performance of the SCADE algorithm in estimation of the CM's tip position as compared to FBG-based position estimations.

From reaching to reach-to-grasp: the arm posture difference and its implications on human motion control strategy.

Reach-to-grasp arm postures differ from those in pure reaching because they are affected by grasp position/orientation, rather than simple transport to a position during a reaching motion. This paper investigates this difference via an analysis of experimental  data collected on reaching and reach-to-grasp motions. A seven-degree-of-freedom (DOFs) kinematic arm model with the swivel angle is used for the motion analysis. Compared to a widely used anatomical arm model, this model distinguishes clearly the four grasping-relevant DOFs (GR-DOFs) that are affected by positions and orientations of the objects to be grasped. These four GR-DOFs include the swivel angle that measures the elbow rotation about the shoulder-wrist axis, and three wrist joint angles. For each GR-DOF, we quantify position vs orientation task-relevance bias that measures how much the DOF is affected by the grasping position vs orientation. The swivel angle and forearm supination have similar bias, and the analysis of their motion suggests two hypotheses regarding the synergistic coordination of the macro- and micro-structures of the human arm (1) DOFs with similar task-relevance are synergistically coordinated; and (2) such synergy breaks when a task-relevant DOF is close to its joint limit without necessarily reaching the limit. This study provides a motion analysis method to reduce the control complexity for reach-to-grasp tasks, and suggests using dynamic coupling to coordinate the hand and arm of upper-limb exoskeletons.

In vitro evaluation of accuracy and precision of automated robotic tooth preparation system for porcelain laminate veneers.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Controlling tooth reduction for porcelain laminate veneers (PLVs) in fractions of millimeters is challenging. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess an automated robotic tooth preparation system for PLVs for accuracy and precision compared with conventional freehand tooth preparation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty maxillary central incisor tooth models were divided into 2 groups. Ten were assigned to a veneer preparation with a robotic arm according to preoperative preparation design-specific guidelines (experimental group). Ten were assigned to conventional tooth preparation by a clinician (control group). Initially, all tooth models were scanned with a 3- dimensional (3D) laser scanner, and a tooth preparation for PLVs was designed on a 3D image. Each tooth model was attached to a typodont. For the experimental group, an electric high-speed handpiece with a 0.9-mm-diameter round diamond rotary cutting instrument was mounted on the robotic arm. The teeth were prepared automatically according to the designed image. For the control group, several diamond rotary cutting instruments were used to prepare the tooth models according to preoperative preparation design guidelines. All prepared tooth models were scanned. The preoperative preparation design image and scanned postoperative preparation images were superimposed. The dimensional difference between those 2 images was measured on the facial aspect, finish line, and incisal edge. Differences between the experimental and the control groups from the 3D design image were computed. Accuracy and precision were compared for all sites and separately for each tooth surface (facial, finish line, incisal). Statistical analyses were conducted with a permutation test for accuracy and with a modified robust Brown-Forsythe Levene-type test for precision (α=.05). RESULTS: For accuracy for all sites, the mean absolute deviation was 0.112 mm in the control group and 0.133 mm in the experimental group. No significant difference was found between the 2 (P=.15). For precision of all sites, the standard deviation was 0.141 mm in the control group and 0.185 mm in the experimental group. The standard deviation in the control group was significantly lower (P=.030). In terms of accuracy for the finish line, the control group was significantly less accurate (P=.038). For precision, the standard deviation in the control group was significantly higher at the finish line (P=.034). CONCLUSIONS: For the data from all sites, the experimental procedure was able to prepare the tooth model as accurately as the control, and the control procedure was able to prepare the tooth model with better precision. The experimental group showed better accuracy and precision at the finish line.

Stroke-induced synergistic phase shifting and its possible implications for recovery mechanisms.

Among other diminished motor capabilities, survivors of a stroke often exhibit pathological joint synergies. With respect to the upper limbs, these deficits diminish coordination in reaching, pointing, and daily task performance. Past research on pathological synergies suggests that the synergistic relationship between joints is different for flexion than in extension. One explanation for different flexion and extension synergies is that there exists a time difference between the joint being volitionally moved and the joint that moves in synergy. The goal of this research was to measure these synergistic time differences. The experiment included 11 hemiparetic subjects who performed rhythmic elbow motions at five different frequencies. A motion capture system was used to record the resulting shoulder synergies. Synergistic shoulder rotations were found to exhibit frequency-dependent phase lags (delays) and leads (advances) in the paretic arm. Furthermore, the synergistic leads and lags varied with frequency and were subject specific. We found that timing differences between joints in pathological movements are comparable to differences that were observed by other researchers for normal, able-bodied movement synergies. Moreover, the fact that pathological synergies were evident in rhythmic motion suggests that they are spinal in origin. A significant amount research exists relating to able-bodied spinal synergies. Thus, the supposition that pathological synergies are an expression of normal synergies would tie disabled movement into a larger body of work related to able-bodied synergies. The rehabilitation implications of this possible connection are discussed.

Lung impedance changes during awake prone positioning in COVID-19. A non-randomized cross-over study.

BACKGROUND: The effects of awake prone positioning (APP) on respiratory mechanics in patients with COVID-19 are not well characterized. The aim of this study was to investigate changes of global and regional lung volumes during APP compared with the supine position using electrical lung impedance tomography (EIT) in patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This exploratory non-randomized cross-over study was conducted at two university hospitals in Sweden between January and May 2021. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit with confirmed COVID-19, an arterial cannula in place, a PaO2/FiO2 ratio <26.6 kPa (<200 mmHg) and high-flow nasal oxygen or non-invasive ventilation were eligible for inclusion. EIT-data were recorded at supine baseline, at 30 and 60 minutes after APP-initiation, and 30 minutes after supine repositioning. The primary outcomes were changes in global and regional tidal impedance variation (TIV), center of ventilation (CoV), global and regional delta end-expiratory lung-impedance (dEELI) and global inhomogeneity (GI) index at the end of APP compared with supine baseline. Data were reported as median (IQR). RESULTS: All patients (n = 10) were male and age was 64 (47-73) years. There were no changes in global or regional TIV, CoV or GI-index during the intervention. dEELI increased from supine reference value 0 to 1.51 (0.32-3.62) 60 minutes after APP (median difference 1.51 (95% CI 0.19-5.16), p = 0.04) and returned to near baseline values after supine repositioning. Seven patients (70%) showed an increase >0.20 in dEELI during APP. The other EIT-variables did not change during APP compared with baseline. CONCLUSION: Awake prone positioning was associated with a transient lung recruiting effect without changes in ventilation distribution measured with EIT in patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19.

Rhythmic affects on stroke-induced joint synergies across a range of speeds.

Joint synergies are one among several diminished motor capabilities that are associated with stroke. These synergies are characterized by a stereotypical combination of involuntary joint coactivations. This research measured the synergistic rotations of the shoulder in response to voluntary rhythmic motion of the elbow across a range of speeds. The experimental protocol included a total of 22 subjects divided into two groups: (1) stroke survivors and (2) neurologically intact controls. Rhythmic motion in stroke survivors resulted in comparable synergies to discrete movement. It was found that hemiparetic subjects had greater synergy than neurologically intact individuals for all speeds. Synergy was quantified using a synergy ratio. This ratio uses elbow rotation as an input in the denominator and shoulder rotation as an output in the numerator. The amount of shoulder synergy varied with the subject's level of impairment as measured by a modified Fugl-Meyer assessment. As rhythmic speeds increased, the synergy ratios became higher for stroke subjects. This effect was especially pronounced for subjects with higher impairment. The relationships between synergies that arise from rhythmic and discrete movements are also discussed. The results of this study may have implications for therapeutic interventions, robotic rehabilitation approaches, and for the design of orthotic devices. More generally, these results shed light on the role of central pattern generators in hemiparetic motion.

Chronic stroke survivors achieve comparable outcomes following virtual task specific repetitive training guided by a wearable robotic orthosis (UL-EXO7) and actual task specific repetitive training guided by a physical therapist.

Survivors post stroke commonly have upper limb impairments. Patients can drive neural reorganization, brain recovery and return of function with task specific repetitive training (TSRT). Fifteen community independent stroke survivors (25-75 years, >6 months post stroke, Upper Limb Fugl Meyer [ULFM] scores 16-39) participated in this randomized feasibility study to compare outcomes of upper limb TSRT guided by a robotic orthosis (bilateral or unilateral) or a physical therapist. After 6 weeks of training (18 h), across all subjects, there were significant improvements in depression, flexibility, strength, tone, pain and voluntary movement (ULFM) (p < 0.05; effect sizes 0.49-3.53). Each training group significantly improved ULFM scores and range of motion without significant group differences. Virtual or actual TSRT performed with a robotic orthosis or a physical therapist significantly reduced arm impairments around the shoulder and elbow without significant gains in fine motor hand control, activities of daily living or independence.

Effect of high-flow nasal oxygen on postoperative oxygenation in obese patients: A randomized controlled trial.

Background and Aim: Postoperative hypoxemia is common after general anesthesia in obese patients. We investigated if early application of high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) improved postoperative oxygenation in obese patients compared with standard oxygen therapy following general anesthesia for laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Methods: This was an open labeled randomized controlled trial conducted at a university hospital in Sweden between October 23, 2018 and February 11, 2020. The study was performed as a substudy within a previously published trial. After ethics committee approval and written informed consent, 40 obese patients (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 35 kg m-2) scheduled for laparoscopic bariatric surgery were randomized to receive oxygen using a standard low-flow nasal cannula (NC group) or HFNO at 40 L min-1 (HF group) immediately upon arrival to the post-anesthesia care unit. Flow rate (NC group) or FiO2 (HF group) was titrated to reach an initial SpO2 of 95%-98% after which settings were left unchanged. The primary outcome was PaO2 at 60 min following postoperative baseline values. Secondary outcomes included PaCO2, SpO2, hemodynamic variables, and patient self-assessed discomfort. Results: Thirty-four patients were available for analysis. PaO2 was similar between groups at postoperative baseline. After 60 min, PaO2 had increased to 12.6 ± 2.8 kPa in the NC group (n = 15) and 14.0 ± 2.7 kPa in the HF group (n = 19); (mean difference 1.4 kPa, 95% confidence interval -0.6 to 3.3; p = 0.16). There were no differences in PaCO2, hemodynamic variables, or self-assessed discomfort between groups after 60 min. Conclusion: In obese patients, HFNO did not improve postoperative short-term oxygenation compared with standard low-flow oxygen following general anesthesia for laparoscopic bariatric surgery.

A Novel Tissue Identification Framework in Cataract Surgery Using an Integrated Bioimpedance-Based Probe and Machine Learning Algorithms.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work was to develop and experimentally validate a bioimpedance-based framework to identify tissues in contact with the surgical instrument during cataract surgery. METHODS: This work introduces an integrated hardware and software solution based on the unique bioimpedance of different intraocular tissues. The developed hardware can be readily integrated with commonly used surgical instruments. The proposed software framework, which encompasses data acquisition and a machine-learning classifier, is fast enough to be deployed in real-time surgical interventions. The experimental protocol included bioimpedance data collected from 31 ex vivo pig eyes targeting four intraocular tissues: Iris, Cornea, Lens, and Vitreous. RESULTS: A classifier based on a support vector machine exhibited an overall accuracy of 91% across all trials. The algorithm provided substantial performance in detecting the intraocular tissues with 100% reliability and 95% sensitivity for the lens, along with 88% reliability and 94% sensitivity for the vitreous. CONCLUSION: The developed impedance-based framework demonstrated successful intraocular tissue identification. SIGNIFICANCE: Clinical implications include the ability to ensure safe operations by detecting posterior capsule rapture with 94% probability and improving surgical efficacy through lens detection with 100% reliability.

ECG pathology and its association with death in critically ill COVID-19 patients, a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the prevalence of ECG abnormalities and their association with mortality, organ dysfunction and cardiac biomarkers in a cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: This cohort study included patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU of a tertiary hospital in Sweden. ECG, clinical data and laboratory findings during ICU stay were extracted from medical records and ECGs obtained near ICU admission were reviewed by two independent physicians. RESULTS: Eighty patients had an acceptable ECG near ICU-admission. In the entire cohort 30-day mortality was 28%. Compared to patients with normal ECG, among whom 30-day mortality was 16%, patients with ECG fulfilling criteria for prior myocardial infarction had higher mortality, 63%, odds ratio (OR) 9.61 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.02-55.6) adjusted for Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 and patients with ST-T abnormalities had 50% mortality and OR 6.05 (95% CI 1.82-21.3) in univariable analysis. Both prior myocardial infarction pattern and ST-T pathology were associated with need for vasoactive treatment and higher peak plasma levels of troponin-I, NT-pro-BNP (N-terminal pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide), and lactate during ICU stay compared to patients with normal ECG. CONCLUSION: ECG with prior myocardial infarction pattern or acute ST-T pathology at ICU admission is associated with death, need for vasoactive treatment and higher levels of biomarkers of cardiac damage and strain in severely ill COVID-19 patients, and should alert clinicians to a poor prognosis.

Semi-Automated Extraction of Lens Fragments via a Surgical Robot Using Semantic Segmentation of OCT Images with Deep Learning - Experimental Results in ex vivo Animal Model.

The overarching goal of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to guide a robotic system to extract lens fragments from ex vivo pig eyes. A convolutional neural network (CNN) was developed to semantically segment four intraocular structures (lens material, capsule, cornea, and iris) from OCT images. The neural network was trained on images from ten pig eyes, validated on images from eight different eyes, and tested on images from another ten eyes. This segmentation algorithm was incorporated into the Intraocular Robotic Interventional Surgical System (IRISS) to realize semi-automated detection and extraction of lens material. To demonstrate the system, the semi-automated detection and extraction task was performed on seven separate ex vivo pig eyes. The developed neural network exhibited 78.20% for the validation set and 83.89% for the test set in mean intersection over union metrics. Successful implementation and efficacy of the developed method were confirmed by comparing the preoperative and postoperative OCT volume scans from the seven experiments.

Accuracy of implant placement using precision surgical guides with varying occlusogingival heights: an in vitro study.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Surgical guides may interfere with effective use of surgical instrumentation during implant placement in the posterior segments where interocclusal distance may be limited. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the accuracy of posterior implant placement using 3 precision surgical guides with varying occlusogingival heights, and to evaluate the difference in accuracy of implant placement through precision guides as compared to freehand placement. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three groups of surgical guides were fabricated with occlusogingival heights of 4, 6, and 8 mm, respectively. A jig was fabricated to allow for accurate positioning in bone substitute blocks. Ninety implants were placed in the mandibular first molar site on a manikin. Thirty implants (Astra Tech AB) were placed for each group, with 15 through the guide and 15 freehand. Distances between a reference implant and each placed implant were measured at both implant and abutment levels using a coordinate measuring machine. Apex position and angular discrepancy were calculated using the coordinates of the centers of the implant platform and of the occlusal aspect of the abutment. Data was assessed using 2-way ANOVA (alpha=.05). RESULTS: Two-way ANOVA demonstrated that guide height did not significantly affect the accuracy of the implant position. The distance from the reference point to the point of measurement was significantly smaller for placement through the guide compared to freehand placement at both implant (P<.001) and abutment levels (P<.001). The angular discrepancy was also significantly smaller for placement through the guide (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Precision surgical guides with 4-mm occlusogingival height allow placement as accurate as precision guides with 8-mm height. Placement through the guide reproduced the target position more accurately than freehand insertion.

Admittance Control Scheme Comparison of EXO-UL8: A Dual-Arm Exoskeleton Robotic System.

In physical rehabilitation, exoskeleton assistive devices aim to restore lost motor functions of a patient suffering from neuromuscular or musculoskeletal disorders. These assistive devices are classified as operating in one of two modes: (1) passive mode, in which the exoskeleton passively moves its joints through the full range (or a subset) of the patient's motion during engagement, or (2) assist-as-needed (AAN) mode, in which the exoskeleton provides assistance to the joints of the patient, either by initiating the movements or assisting the patient's movements to complete the task at hand. Achieving high physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) transparency is an open problem for multiple degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) redundant exoskeletons. Using the EXO-UL8 exoskeleton, this study compares two multi-joint admittance control schemes (hyper parameter-based, and Kalman Filter-based) with comfort optimization to improve human-exoskeleton transparency. The control schemes were tested by three healthy subjects who completed reaching tasks while assisted by the exoskeleton. Kinematic information in both joint and task space, as well as force-and torque-based power exchange between the human arm and exoskeleton, are collected and analyzed. The results show that the preliminary Kalman Filter-based control scheme matches the performance of the existing hyper parameter-based scheme, highlighting the potential of the Kalman Filter-based approach for additional performance.

The Effect of Haptic Feedback on Efficiency and Safety During Preretinal Membrane Peeling Simulation.

PURPOSE: We determine whether haptic feedback improves surgical performance and outcome during simulated a preretinal membrane peeling procedure. METHODS: A haptic-enabled virtual reality preretinal membrane peeling simulator was developed using a surgical cockpit with two multifinger haptic devices. Six subjects (three trained retina surgeons and three nonsurgeons) performed the preretinal membrane peeling surgical procedure using two modes of operation: visual and haptic feedback, and visual feedback only. RESULTS: Task completion time, tool tip path trajectory, tool-retina collision force, and retinal damage were all reduced with haptic feedback used and compared to modes where haptic feedback was disabled. CONCLUSIONS: Haptic feedback improves efficiency and safety during preretinal membrane peeling simulation. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: These findings highlight the potential benefit of haptic feedback for improving performance and safety of vitreoretinal surgery.

Multi-Modal Haptic Feedback for Grip Force Reduction in Robotic Surgery.

Minimally invasive robotic surgery allows for many advantages over traditional surgical procedures, but the loss of force feedback combined with a potential for strong grasping forces can result in excessive tissue damage. Single modality haptic feedback systems have been designed and tested in an attempt to diminish grasping forces, but the results still fall short of natural performance. A multi-modal pneumatic feedback system was designed to allow for tactile, kinesthetic, and vibrotactile feedback, with the aims of more closely imitating natural touch and further improving the effectiveness of HFS in robotic surgical applications and tasks such as tissue grasping and manipulation. Testing of the multi-modal system yielded very promising results with an average force reduction of nearly 50% between the no feedback and hybrid (tactile and kinesthetic) trials (p < 1.0E-16). The multi-modal system demonstrated an increased reduction over single modality feedback solutions and indicated that the system can help users achieve average grip forces closer to those normally possible with the human hand.

Evaluation of unmanned airborne vehicles and mobile robotic telesurgery in an extreme environment.

As unmanned extraction vehicles become a reality in the military theater, opportunities to augment medical operations with telesurgical robotics become more plausible. This project demonstrated an experimental surgical robot using an unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV) as a network topology. Because battlefield operations are dynamic and geographically challenging, the installation of wireless networks is not a feasible option at this point. However, to utilize telesurgical robotics to assist in the urgent medical care of wounded soldiers, a robust, high bandwidth, low latency network is requisite. For the first time, a mobile surgical robotic system was deployed to an austere environment and surgeons were able to remotely operate the systems wirelessly using a UAV. Two University of Cincinnati surgeons were able to remotely drive the University of Washington's RAVEN robot's end effectors. The network topology demonstrated a highly portable, quickly deployable, bandwidth-sufficient and low latency wireless network required for battlefield use.