3A1-C01 Study on Improved Usability of a Needle Driver with Multiple DOFs for Pediatric Laparoscopic Surgery(Medical Robotics and Mechatronics (1))

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the problems of a multi-degree-of-freedom(DOF) needle driver which we developed for pediatric laparoscopic surgery. The feasibility of the developed needle driver was shown in the previous researches, but even experienced pediatric surgeons often failed in suturing. To investigate the problems of the developed needle driver, maneuverability evaluation experiment was conducted with 6 pediatric surgeons and analyzed how they manipulated the developed needle driver. Results showed that the developed needle driver had problems which should be improved. In future, we should improve the tip and user interface of the developed needle driver to solve these problems.