Implementation of Predictive Control for Remote Surgery Subject to Time Delay

Abstract

Telerobotics have been successful in furthering the advancement on the medical field, as they provide an option for operating from distance and benefits such as reduced patient recovery time, when compared to standard operating methods. To this day, however, there are still many issues that have yet to be resolved, one of which is the effect of time delay. Due to its nature, time delay cannot be prevented and is present in all teler-obotic applications, with large delays resulting in substandard performance. This paper investigates the application of predictive technology in a surgical setting, in attempts to reduce the effects of time delay. Two simulations with different controller setups, namely the PID and Smith controller pair and the Adaptive MPC, will be used to manipulate the da Vinci Research Kit's Patient Side Manipulator (PSM), and their performances are analyzed and compared. It was found that both predictive controllers are able to successfully follow the designated trajectory, in spite of delays of up to 800ms, with the Smith predictor producing superior results. However, the adaptive MPC is shown to have improving performance as the simulation progresses, showing its ability to readjust to unexpected contact. Thus, experimentation with increased contact, such as penetration, may be considered for future work.