Eye Gaze Tracking for Surgical Robotics

Surgical robots are dramatically changing the way in which surgeries are performed. As operating a surgical robot is quite different than traditional surgical tools, surgeons face significant learning curves when training to gain competency. A useful tool for analyzing the learning process of surgeons is eye gaze tracking. Eye gaze tracking technology may be used for monitoring the surgeons gaze while operating a surgical robot. The proposed research project will involve Gazepoint and Intuitive Surgical Inc. as industry partners. At Gazepoint, the intern will develop a head-mounted eye gaze tracker and add 3D gaze tracking to a desktop gaze tracker. At Intuitive Surgical Inc. the intern will use her experience with gaze tracking towards integrating a gaze tracker with the da Vinci surgical robot. The gaze tracker will be used to collect data from da Vinci operators in order to gain insight on improvements that can be made to the surgeon training curriculum.

Faculty Supervisor:

Tim Salcudean

Student:

Irene Tong

Partner:

Intuitive Surgical Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - biomedical

Sector:

Medical devices

University:

University of British Columbia