Investigating Human Factors in Mako-Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty Surgeries

This paper presents a preliminary investigation of the human factors underpinning successful Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) in Mako-assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) surgeries. This investigation is critical because most prior studies on human factors in Robot-Assisted Surgeries (RAS) have focused on the da Vinci surgical robot, a teleoperated robot. It could be valuable to identify what human factors might enhance or restrict HRC in Mako-assisted surgeries. We analyzed six surgical videos demonstrating how the Mako is utilized in TKA surgeries. We performed visual and thematic analyses. The findings indicate that the Mako system improves communication through the different screens in the operation theatre. These screens promote collaboration by visually sharing relevant information with all team members. Mako-assisted surgeries also introduce several challenges related to workflow disruptions. Future work aims to compare the insights of this study with other types of Mako-assisted surgeries.