A pre-clinical application study of the SATA-LRS laparoscopic instrument in a human cadaver model.

Background: To validate whether the SATA-LRS, a novel reusable articulating laparoscopic instrument, fits surgical practice, a pre-clinical study was performed.

Methods: Thirteen medical doctors used the instrument in a laparoscopic endoscopic inguinal hernia repair (TEP)-like task inside a cadaver. A set of sensors on the instrument handle detected motion and articulation of the instrument tip. Data from the sensors and video recordings were used to assess the amount and type of movement of the instrument and the time spent on tasks. questionnaire was used to gain insight into the participants' perception of the contextual factors.

Results: There was no difference between task time and instrument tip velocities when using articulation (or not) and all participants used articulation at least half of the task time. Instrument-handle movement, indicating the user's hand and arm movement, was significantly reduced when using articulation. The questionnaire indicated strong acceptance of the instrument and the experimental setup, and a desire to use the instrument in surgery by most participants.

Conclusions: The added articulation feature of the SATA-LRS instrument was deemed beneficial by the participants, showed no increased handling complexity or time spent on the task and was used frequently when enabled, indicating intuitiveness.