Preclinical study testing feasibility and technical requirements for successful tele-robotic long distance peripheral vascular intervention.

Legeza, Peter; Sconzert, Kalyna; Sungur, John-Michael; Britz, Gavin; Lumsden, Alan

BACKGROUND Robotic-assisted endovascular surgery enables us to perform interventions from long distances. This study evaluates the workflow and telecommunication requirements of tele-robotic peripheral vascular interventions. METHODS Ten superficial femoral artery cases were performed by the operator being 44 miles away from the interventional suite, with an endovascular robotic system, on a high-fidelity endovascular simulator. Procedural success, technical success, fluoroscopy time, residual stenosis, contrast dose, and network delay were registered. Communication success was assessed after each procedure on a scale from 1(unacceptable) to 5(ideal). RESULTS Procedural success and technical success were 100% and 80% respectively. The mean residual stenosis, fluoroscopy time, and contrast dose were 1.7±5.25%, 6.5±1.8 min, and 58.8±14.8 ml. The mean network latency was 38.9±3.5 ms. Median communication success scores were 4.5 (min: 4, max: 5) reported by both the operator and the bedside technician on a scale of 1 (unacceptable) to 5 (ideal). CONCLUSION With a stable network connection and good communication protocol, a high success rate was achieved for remote robotic-assisted peripheral vascular intervention in an ex-vivo model. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.