Molecular precision surgery: technical innovations and their relation to interactive perception

Abstract

Surgery is a key treatment option for prostate cancer patients which is rapidly evolving with the rise of minimally invasive robotic techniques and image-guided surgery. In these approach, Enhanced dexterity and decision-making, help improve the surgeon-robot-patient interaction. By improving this level of interaction, surgery can achieve a level of precision that leads to improved patient outcomes. As such, improved environmental awareness during surgery can aid more precise targeting of cancerous tissues and better protection of healthy tissues. This means that technological innovations, such as target-specific radiopharmaceuticals and advanced surgical sensory modalities, are necessary to enhance surgical perception. The influence of such perception-enhancing technologies on surgeons' actions can best be objectively assessed by analyzing the movements of surgical instruments, performed during these procedures. Digitized instrument kinematics provide a wealth of data representative of the interaction dexterity and decision-making that, until now, has been largely neglected in the field of image-guided surgery. This work represents a significant first step toward incorporating interactive perception assessments into image-guided surgery. The aim is to evaluate the influence of newly developed technologies and guide the design of future advancements.