Automation of Suturing Path Generation for da Vinci-Like Surgical Robotic Systems

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has substantially improved surgery by reducing patient pain, discomfort, and tissue trauma [1]. MIS, however, has shortcomings including limited workspace, reduced surgeon’s dexterity, and poor eye-hand coordination [2]. Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) has aimed to mitigate these limitations [3]. The da Vinci^® Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) is the-state-of-the-art RMIS, in which the surgeon operates by using the console’s master controllers to maneuver the patient-side robotic arms, where the surgeon’s hand movements are refined through motion scaling and tremor reduction. Over half a million procedures are performed using the da Vinci annually [4].