A virtual reality-based method of decreasing transmission time of visual feedback for a tele-operative robotic catheter operating system

Background: An Internet-based tele-operative robotic catheter operating system was designed for vascular interventional surgery, to afford unskilled surgeons the opportunity to learn basic catheter/guidewire skills, while allowing experienced physicians to perform surgeries cooperatively. Remote surgical procedures, limited by variable transmission times for visual feedback, have been associated with deterioration in operability and vascular wall damage during surgery. Methods: At the patient's location, the catheter shape/position was detected in real time and converted into three-dimensional coordinates in a world coordinate system. At the operation location, the catheter shape was reconstructed in a virtual-reality environment, based on the coordinates received. The data volume reduction significantly reduced visual feedback transmission times. Results: Remote transmission experiments, conducted over inter-country distances, demonstrated the improved performance of the proposed prototype. The maximum error for the catheter shape reconstruction was 0.93 mm and the transmission time was reduced considerably. Conclusions: The results were positive and demonstrate the feasibility of remote surgery using conventional network infrastructures.