Design of intuitive user interface for Multi-DOF forceps for laparoscopic surgery

In this paper, we present the development of an intuitive user interface for hand-held multi-DOF forceps for laparoscopic surgery. Interface design is crucial to the development of hand-held medical instruments. Surgeons may not use medical devices owing to their poor usability, regardless of their performance. In addition, most surgeons do not have the time to learn the use of robotic instruments. We have listed all possible input mechanisms based on the motions of the fingers, and we have designed sample interfaces consisting of effective input mechanisms. The usability of the designed interfaces was evaluated by surgeons via experiments performed using the sample interfaces and a simulator. In summary, we propose a method for designing the most intuitive user interface for hand-held multi-DOF forceps.