Preliminary evaluation of a new microsurgical robotic system for head and neck surgery

This paper presents an implementation and evaluation of the Robotic ENT Microsurgery System (REMS). The implementation is discussed in reference to analysis from previous work, and evaluated using a simulated surgical task designed to resemble microlaryngeal phonosurgery. Preliminary technical evaluations of resolution and accuracy are also presented. The results of the evaluations reveal that the system statistically significantly improves surgical precision (p < 0.01) with only a small increase in operating time. The force data recorded also reveals that operating force can be significantly affected by ergonomic factors, and that warnings for excessive force and workspace limits are needed.