DNN-Based Assistant in Laparoscopic Computer-Aided Palpation

Tactile sensory input of surgeons is severely limited in minimally invasive surgery, therefore manual palpation cannot be performed for intraoperative tumor detection. Computer-aided palpation, in which tactile information is acquired by devices and relayed to the surgeon, is one solution for overcoming this limitation. An important design factor is the method by which the acquired information is fed back to the surgeon. However, currently there is no systematic method for achieving this aim, and it is possible that a badly implemented feedback mechanism could adversely affect the performance of the surgeon. In this study, we propose an assistance algorithm for intraoperative tumor detection in laparoscopic surgery. Our scenario is that the surgeon manipulates a sensor probe, makes a decision based on the feedback provided from the sensor, while simultaneously, the algorithm analyzes the time series of the sensor output. Thus, the algorithm assists the surgeon in making decisions by providing independent detection results. A deep neural network model with three hidden layers was used to analyze the sensor output. We propose methods to input the time series of the sensor output to the model for real-time analysis, and to determine the criterion for detection by the model. This study aims to validate the feasibility of the algorithm by using data acquired in our previous psychophysical experiment. There, novice participants were asked to detect a phantom of an early-stage gastric tumor through visual feedback from the tactile sensor. In addition to the analysis of the accuracy, signal detection theory was employed to assess the potential detection performance of the model. The detection performance was compared with that of human participants. We conducted two types of validation, and found that the detection performance of the model was not significantly different from that of the human participants if the data from a known user was included in the model construction. The result supports the feasibility of the proposed algorithm for detection assistance in computer-aided palpation.