bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
White racial identity, political attitudes, and selective exposure to information about racism
Authors: Takahashi Koji J , Jefferson Hakeem , Earl Allison
Published: June 2023

Despite its documented benefits, information about racism can threaten White identity in ways that may motivate disengagement. In fact, people generally choose information that is favorable rather than unfavorable to their attitudes, social identities, or some aspect of the self (i.e., selective exposure). However, existing research is unclear about whether White racial identity can shape selective exposure, a question complicated by the fact that these identity-based motives might conflict with political attitudes that consistently shape information preferences. In eight studies (n = 3,080), we demonstrate that White racial identity–above and beyond racial and political attitudes–motivates selective exposure to information about racism. In Studies 1 and 2, White participants selected racism-irrelevant information over racism information—a pattern that distinguished them from racially minoritized participants even when accounting for racial and political attitudes. White participants in Studies 3a and 3b simultaneously considered how favorable information was to their racial identity and to their political attitudes when rating how threatening they expected information to be. These ratings almost perfectly mirrored patterns of selective exposure among White participants in Studies 4a-c. Across studies, identity-based motives helped to explain why White participants selected less information about racism. Study 5 further found that encouraging White participants to reappraise and seek discomfort (an affective state theorized to underlie selective exposure) led them to select more ideologically inconsistent information about racism, although the implication of this finding differs for White liberals and conservatives. These studies demonstrate the importance of both racial identity and political attitudes for understanding and addressing biases in how people process information about racism. We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for theories of selective exposure and for growing political conflicts over information about racism.
Secrecy In Everyday Life
Authors: Bianchi Valentina , Greenaway Katharine Helen , Moeck Ella , Slepian Michael , Kalokerinos Elise Katherine
Published: June 2023

Secrecy is common, yet we know little about how it plays out in daily life. Most existing research on secrecy is based on methods involving retrospection over long periods of time, failing to capture secrecy “in the wild”. Filling this gap, we conducted two studies using intensive longitudinal designs to present the first picture of secrecy in everyday life. We investigated momentary contextual factors and individual differences as predictors of mind-wandering to and concealing secrets. Contextual factors more consistently predicted secrecy experiences than person-level factors. Feeling more negative about a secret predicted a greater likelihood of mind-wandering to the secret. Interacting with the secret target was linked with a greater likelihood of secret concealment. Individual differences were not consistently associated with mind-wandering to secrets. We conclude that daily experiences with secrets may be better predicted by momentary feelings rather than individual differences such as personality traits.
The Open Empirical Cycle for Hypothesis Evaluation in Psychology
Authors: Hoijtink Herbert , de Bruin Jonathan , Duken Sascha Béla , Flores Jacques , Frankenhuis Willem , Van Lissa Caspar J.
Published: June 2023

In the last decade it has become clear that replicability of empirical psychological researchshould be better. Open science practices aim to enhance the transparency of researchthereby both enabling others to reproduce the results presented in a paper and increasingthe replicability of these results using new data. Examples of these practices includepreregistration, publication of data and analyses, open access publications, and replicationresearch.Although open science practices are gaining traction, they have rarely been placed ina broader epistemological context. To address this shortcoming, this paper introduces theopen empirical cycle. It draws upon De Groot’s empirical cycle, a model of cumulativeknowledge generation via scientific research. The open empirical cycle is a pragmatic guidefor researchers that includes and links to open science practices. Adhering to the openempirical cycle, if only partly, will structure the scientific workflow and create awareness ofthe adverse consequences of deviations. Following the open empirical cycle increases thetransparency, quality, trustworthiness, and replicability of research.The open empirical cycle presented in this paper focusses on hypothesis evaluationusing quantitative data in psychology. However, it can straightforwardly be applied tohypothesis evaluation in other social and behavioral sciences and biomedical sciences. Itbrings together ideas from de Groot’s empirical cycle, traditional, and open research steps,key references, and open science tools, thereby providing a pragmatic, contemporary, andstructured approach to hypothesis evaluation.
The Figure of Satan in English Literature from Milton to Shelley.
Authors: Blaber Richard Michael
Published: June 2023

Satan, the ‘ruler of the powers of the air’ of Ephesians 2:2, is undoubtedly the tragic hero (in the sense employed by Aristotle in his Poetics) of Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost. Blake, Byron and Shelley saw him quite differently, perceiving the heroism, but transforming the tragedy, and, instead of seeing hubris (‘overweening pride’), Promethean defiance, of which they fully approved.
Low and very low birthweight disadvantage in compulsory education achievement and the transition to upper secondary education in the Finnish birth cohorts of 1987 to 1997
Authors: Lindberg Matti
Published: June 2023

We compare compulsory education and upper secondary education success of very low-birthweight (VLBW) and low-birthweight (LBW) adolescents (ages 16 to 19) to that of their normal-birthweight peers in the complete Finnish birth cohorts of 1987 to 1997. We use register data on grades, educational transitions, and completed degrees. Results of both population-level and sibling-fixed effects models indicate that in Finland, (V)LBW disadvantage is translated into educational disadvantage mainly through drop-out and completion of an adjusted compulsory education syllabus. Among pupils who are able to complete standard syllabus and to transition to post-compulsory education within normative time-frame, (V)LBW is not associated with lower grade point average or with meaningfully lower probability of completing an upper secondary degree by the normative age.
Cognition, complexity, and the change theory embedded in the Diffusion of Innovations: An augmented, causal, and actionable model
Authors: Tractenberg Rochelle E.
Published: June 2023

Shared under a CC-By Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license. Change theory is a model, typically conceptual, that frames and describes relationships between conditions that can lead to change - and the outcomes that represent that change. One important type of change is the uptake of "innovation", whether it is in the form of new technology, new ideas, or new results from relevant research. In biomedical arenas, specific instances of uptake are called "implementation" of research or "translation" of knowledge, while in educational realms the same type of focused initiatives are driven by a specific "theory of change". In contrast to the delimited translation or implementation of change in single projects or initiatives, the theory that enables predictions and the identification of outcomes (what will change, and why) across contexts is a "grand" theory. A major conceptual model supporting change theory as well as theories of change is the Diffusion of Innovation (DoI), also the title of a book describing the phenomenon, originally published in 1962. Importantly, DoI has its origins in communication - i.e., the communication of a new idea or about technology. While DoI is a popular change theory model, most presentations treat the elements of DoI as sequential, without imposing any causal influence onto the sequence. This paper explores the role of cognition in those receiving the communication (about the new idea); the complexity of both the information entailed in the new idea and that required by end users to understand and correctly interpret the new information; and the causal influences of elements of the DoI as a grand change theory. Three examples are given that the new version of the DoI model explains: the misuse of a novel statistical model in teacher performance evaluation; the underrepresentation of systems biology in algorithmic genomic predictions; and the uptake of curriculum and instructional development guidelines for higher education and training. In each of these examples, treating the DoI change theory as explicitly causal, and adding in cognition and complexity, predicts failures in all three examples. One recent example of recommendations for improving short-form training shows how the augmented DoI model is actionable and evaluable, to encourage diffusion of any innovation.
Big Data in Education: Detection of ICT Factors Associated with School Effectiveness with Data Mining Techniques
Authors: Martínez-Abad Fernando , Gamazo Adriana , Rodríguez-Conde María José
Published: June 2023

The search for non-contextual process factors associated with school effectiveness has become a line of research with very broad dissemination, primarily from the ubiquity of research that includes analysis of secondary data from large-scale evaluations. With the aim of detecting ICT factors related to school effectiveness from the Spanish sample of the PISA 2015 evaluation, this work applies statistical techniques of data mining, specifically decision trees, for the optimization of the process. The results demonstrate that, while the availability and excessive use of ICTs, both in the educational environment and in the home, are factors associated with low effectiveness, other more personal characteristics of the pupils, such as their perception of self-efficacy in the management of ICT, or their own interest in the use of technologies, can be considered as factors in the protection of school effectiveness. We conclude by discussing the relationship between school effectiveness and academic performance through the analysis of previous studies, focusing on the common elements detected within both perspectives.
Minority Ethnic Vulnerabilities in the Use of Digital Housing Services Across Age Groups
Authors: Hasan Sacha , Yuan Yingfang
Published: June 2023

Despite the accelerated digitalisation of social housing services, there has been a lack of focused attention to the harms that are likely to arise through the systemic inequalities encountered by minoritised ethnic (ME) communities in the UK. Within this context, we are employing an intersectional framework to underline the centrality of age to ME vulnerabilities including lack of digital literacy and proficiency in English in the access, use and outcomes of digitalised social housing services. We draw our findings from an interdisciplinary sentimental analysis of 100 interviews with ME individuals in Glasgow, Bradford, Manchester and Tower Hamlets for extracting vulnerabilities and assessing their intensities across different ME age groups, and a subsample of qualitative analysis of 21 interviews. This is to illustrate similarities and differences of sentimental analysis of these vulnerabilities between machine learning (ML) and inductive coding, offering an example for future ML supported qualitative data analysis approach in housing studies.
Provenance des matériaux lithiques dans les Antilles : silex, jaspe, obsidienne et compagnie.
Authors: Queffelec Alain , Delvigne Vincent , Leck Arthur , de Parthenay Morgane , Bellot-Gurlet Ludovic , Léandri-Bressy Céline , Shearn Isaac , Soutvenot Christian
Published: June 2023

Les matériaux lithiques dans le registre archéologique ont toujours été l'objet d'une attention particulière de la part des archéologues, surtout dans les contextes préhistoriques. Ils suscitent une telle attention grâce à leur excellente préservation et au potentiel important qu’ils possèdent pour fournir des informations sur les comportements passés, y compris la mobilité des biens et des personnes grâce aux études de provenance. Bien qu'ils ne représentent pas la majorité du corpus archéologique dans les sites archéologiques précoloniaux des Petites Antilles, où la céramique et l’outillage sur coquille domine, leur diversité géologique nécessite de regrouper des connaissances, des méthodes et des compétences variées afin de les étudier. Ici, nous présentons les résultats préliminaires de spécialistes en caractérisation des roches volcaniques, silicites et roches vertes.Pour la première fois, plusieurs artefacts en verre volcanique ont été identifiés sur des sites du Céramique ancien de Guadeloupe et de Dominique. Cependant, de nombreuses questions subsistent quant à l'origine géologique de ce matériau vitreux à la composition chimique très spécifique. Par ailleurs, des études microtexturales et micropaléontologiques détaillées des différentes matières premières siliceuses fournissent des premiers résultats permettant d'identifier et de cartographier leur origine et leur répartition parmi les îles des Caraïbes. Ces tous premiers résultats d'un projet à long terme démontrent la capacité des études pétrologiques menées avec des méthodes appropriées, dans les Antilles comme ailleurs, à nous aider à améliorer notre connaissance des mouvements de population et des réseaux de distribution des matériaux lithiques de l'Âge Céramique.
The challenge of assessing academic books: The UK and Lithuanian cases through the ISBN lens
Authors: Dagiene Eleonora
Published: June 2023

Books are an important output in many fields of research. However, they pose a significant challenge for research assessment systems, partly because of the limited availability of information to support the assessment of books. To inform book assessment practices, I present a systematic examination of the ISBN Manual and the Global Register of Publishers (GRP). I evaluate the extent to which these two sources can be used to determine the genre and publisher of a book as well as the country in which a book was issued. My analysis focuses on books submitted to the research assessment systems in Lithuania and the UK from 2008 to 2020. I show how the ISBN Manual captures the complex interactions between publishers, their imprints, and other organisations active in academic publishing, revealing the pitfalls of measuring books’ quality by their publisher’s status. The results also indicate that the ISBN standard provides no basis for the book genres mandated by research assessment systems in some countries. Finally, I demonstrate how the ISBN Manual and metadata accumulated in the GRP are convenient tools for designers of research assessment systems and are suitable for identifying ISBN registrants and performing bibliometric analysis.
Protective factors for wellbeing resilience in adolescence: a longitudinal analysis using the residuals approach
Authors: Marquez Jose , Francis-Hew Louis , Humphrey Neil
Published: June 2023

Introduction: The residuals approach, in which residual scores from regression models are used as a proxy for resilient functioning, offers great potential to increase understanding of resilience processes. However, its application in child and adolescent wellbeing research is limited to date. We use this approach to examine how adversity exposure impacts later wellbeing (life satisfaction, and internalising mental health difficulties) in the early-to-middle adolescence transition; whether gender and ethnic differences in wellbeing resilience exist; which internal and external factors confer protective effects for wellbeing resilience; and, whether the protective effect of these factors differs by gender and level of adversity exposure.Method: Longitudinal data from the #BeeWell study on 12,130 adolescents (age 12/13 at T1; 13/14 at T2), representative of Greater Manchester (England), were analysed in a series of linear regressions to establish adversity indices for later wellbeing before assessing the protective effects of internal and external factors on wellbeing resilience. Results: Multiple adversity factors (e.g., home material deprivation, sexuality discrimination, bullying) were found to impact later wellbeing. Girls and white adolescents presented lower wellbeing resilience than their peers. Internal psychological factors (self-esteem, emotional regulation, optimism) consistently presented the strongest protective effects, but behavioural/activity factors (physical activity, sleep) also contributed to wellbeing resilience. Among external factors, friendships and peer support were the most salient. Physical activity yielded stronger protective effects among boys (compared to girls), while the reverse was true of self-esteem. Effects of protective factors were stronger among those at lower (compared to higher) levels of adversity exposure.Conclusion: The residuals approach can make a considerable contribution to our understanding of the interplay between adversity exposure and access to protective factors in determining adolescent wellbeing outcomes. Moreover, its application provides clear implications for policy and practice in terms of prevention (of adversity exposure) and intervention (to facilitate resilience).
Toward Multiple-Point Stiffness Changing Surgical Needle for Eye Surgery Robotic System
Authors:   Chonnam National University, South Korea, Chen Rongwan , Gowoon Gowoon ,   Chonnam National University, South Korea, Young Ko Seong ,   Chonnam National University, South Korea
Published: June 2023

Nowadays, minimally invasive surgeries require thin and slender instruments, such as needles and catheters, which can reach the surgical sites inside the human body. Especially, eye surgery requires high precision and steady manipulation of the inside of the the human eyeball. Through this manipulation, diseases such as epiretinal membrane, retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy, and macular holes can be treated, and drugs can be delivered to the target sites for effective treatment [1]. There are two classifications of stiffness change robots that can be used for ophthalmic surgery. One is to use two or more pre-curved elastic material tubes and control it by the insertion/retraction and axial rotation motions. Another one is to use the tendon-pulley mechanism [2],[3]. Ravigopal et al. proposed the mechanism using one tendon and notched tube [4] and Jeong et al. utilized one tendon and two notched tubes [5], which are for cardiovascular diseases. Kim et al. presented interaction forces of one inner tube and one outer tube with a specific pattern to change the stiffness of wires with diameters of 8~10mm[6] and 1~2mm[7]. In this paper, we propose a mechanism that can change change the stiffness of the needle at two different points independantly.
Augmented Reality-assisted Epidural Needle Insertion: User Experience and Performance
Authors:   CONCORDIA University, Canada, Kazemipour Negar , Sayadi Amir ,   McGill University, Canada, Cecere Renzo ,   McGill University, Canada, Barralet Jake ,   McGill University, Canada, Amir Amir ,   McGill University, Canada
Published: June 2023

The epidural injection is a medical intervention to inject therapeutics directly in the vicinity of the spinal cord and the nerves branching from it. Epidural needle insertion is a blind procedure that relies merely on the physician’s tactile feedback. Nevertheless, tactile feedback can be polluted with needle-tissue friction and may vary from patient to patient. In order to achieve sub-millimetre accuracy, preempt neurological damage, and reduce the radiation exposure time for patients and physicians, new technologies have been used. Most recently, augmented reality (AR)-based methods have shown promising results in reducing the need for intraoperative X-ray imaging, especially in spine surgery. AR navigation is based on displaying images directly on a wearable device or screen visualizing surgical instruments and patients’ anatomy. Combined with robotic precision, AR shows an excellent prospect for increasing accuracy for spinal injection similar to that of spine surgery [1]. Studies have shown that the AR navigation systems, when compared to the free- hand methods, resulted in increased precision of pedicle screw placement without intraoperative fluoroscopy [1], [2] and decreased radiation [3]. Inspired by the recent de- velopments in spine surgery, in this study we have studied the user experience who used our robot-assisted needle insertion system for epidural space localization and needle insertion. In addition, the accuracy and repeatability of augmented reality-assisted epidural needle insertion were compared to that of non-assisted robotic needle insertion. For user experience assessment, NASA Task Load Index (TLX) [4] was used and analyzed.
A Comparison of the Workspace and Dexterity of Hybrid Concentric Tube Robot and Notched Wrist Systems
Authors:   University of Toronto, Canada, Kang Paul H. , Nguyen Robert H. ,   The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, Looi Thomas ,   The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada
Published: June 2023

Concentric tube robots (CTR) and notched wrists are two technologies that have been investigated for medical applications. CTRs consist of pre-curved super-elastic tubes that are nested concentrically, and are linearly translated and axially rotated with respect to one another for movement. Separately, notched wrists are tubular instruments that can achieve large bending angles via notches that are cut into the tube and shortening actua- tion cables that run along their length. These two robotic tools have been investigated independently, but very few studies have explored combining them [1], [2]. This paper compares the workspace and dexterity of a three-tube CTR with two hybrid CTR and notch-cut wrist systems in simulation. These metrics are key in measuring the performance of robots, and particularly so for surgical robots. To perform complicated surgical tasks, it is critical to increase the number of spatial points that the robot can reach, and the number of obtainable orientations at these points.
Design and Control of a Tele-operated Soft Instrument in Minimally Invasive Surgery
Authors:   University College London, UK, Shi Jialei , Wurdemann Helge ,   University College London, UK
Published: June 2023

The medical sector has emphasised increasing levels of autonomy to achieve safe and efficient robot-assisted surgeries [1]. In this case, robust and intuitive manip- ulation of medical robots is crucial, and many tele- operated surgical robots have been developed, e.g., the da Vinci robotic platform. The tele-operation can of- fer high operation precision and intuitive manipulation. In addition, soft robots have led to the development of inherently safe and flexible interventional tools for medical applications, e.g, the minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Soft instruments are particular advantageous to navigate in tortuous anatomical environments with constrained space [2]. Combining the tele-operation technology with soft robots might further result in a significant reduction in operation time and increase of surgeons’ dexterity [3]. The contribution of this work lies in the design and control of a tele-operated soft instrument for laparoscopic examination are proposed based on the miniaturised STIFF-FLOP manipulators (with a diameter of 11.5 mm) [4]. Specifically, the robot has two serially connected modules, which can seamlessly fit to commercially available 12 mm trocar ports used in MIS (see Fig. 1). The bending angle of the soft instrument can achieve 180◦ . We also preliminarily validate the feasibility of the soft instrument.
Valvuloplasty Balloon Catheter Sizing Approach for Calcified Aortic Valve with Different Annulus Ratios
Authors:   University College London, China, Yao Junke , Bosi Giorgia ,   Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, UK, Burriesci Gaetano ,   University College London, UK, Wurdemann Helge ,   University College London, UK
Published: June 2023

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is re- garded as the option of preference minimally invasive intervention to treat high-risk patients with aortic steno- sis, which is a common heart valve disease charac- terized by the narrowing of the valve opening due to the thickening of the valve leaflets. During TAVI, a prosthetic aortic valve, replacing the diseased native valve with its function, is inserted and expanded by a balloon catheter if it is a balloon-expandable device. As a result, the correct size of the prosthetic device is vital due to its association with potential complications such as paravalvular regurgitation and aortic annulus rupture [1]. Pre-operative annulus size measurement based on imaging techniques is commonly applied be- fore TAVI procedure including transthoracic echocar- diography, transesophageal echocardiography and multi- detector computed tomography [2], [3]. However, these techniques face two major limitations: heavy dependence on the operator’s experience and the influence of the optimum instant in the cardiac cycle for evaluation. In addition, the potential changes in the annular geometry caused by balloon aortic valvuloplasty, which uses a balloon catheter to dilate the calcified aortic leaflets as a bridge treatment to TAVI, are not considered. There- fore, intraoperative assessments based on valvuloplasty balloon catheters were introduced, which measure the annulus size by the balloon when it is inflated for dilatation [4]. They do, however, only provide limited compatibility for a limited number of devices. This study proposes an intra-operative method for mea- suring the aortic annulus that account for compliance and elliptical geometries using balloon internal pressure and volume data. The valvuloplasty balloon catheter from a commercially available source was used to obtain the intra-balloon pressure-volume curves by an inflation device. A characterized analytical model and a numeri- cal model for balloon free-inflation were used to develop a sizing algorithm for estimating annulus dimensions.
SLAM-based Trackerless Navigation System for Lateral Skull base Surgery: A Pilot Cadaver Study
Authors:   Brigham and Women's Hospital, US, Zhou Haoyin , Bartholomew Ryan ,   Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, US, Boreel Maud ,   Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, US, Garcia Alejandro ,   Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, US, Suresh Krish ,   Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, US, Gupta Saksham ,   Brigham and Women's Hospital, US, Guenette Jeffrey ,   Brigham and Women's Hospital, US, Lee Daniel ,   Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, US, Corrales C. Eduardo ,   Brigham and Women’s Hospital, US, Jagadeesan Jayender ,   Harvard University, US
Published: June 2023

Lateral skull base surgery requires drilling near del- icate structures with high accuracy. Misidentification of anatomy within the opaque temporal bone can lead to inadvertent surgical complications with high morbidity including facial paralysis, hearing loss, and dysequi- librium. Given that benign pathology is typically the indication for surgery, it is of elevated importance for the lateral skull base surgeon to deftly tread the line between underexposure, which risks persistent disease, and overexposure, which risks iatrogenic injury. The safety and efficacy of lateral skull base surgery may be improved with a viable surgical navigation system. Despite the availability of surgical navigation systems for nearly three decades, they are infrequently used for lateral skull base surgeries. The navigation systems depend on external tracking equipment and can suffer from cumbersome registration and calibration steps, and suffer from metallic interference or line-of-sight issues. Moreover, for lateral skull base surgery, the patient head position may be adjusted intraoperatively and result in a significant registration error.
Using SciKit-Surgery for Augmented Reality in Surgery
Authors:   UCL, UK, Thompson Stephen , Xochicale Miguel ,   UCL, UK, Dowrick Thomas ,   UCL, UK, Clarkson Matthew ,   UCL, UK
Published: June 2023

SciKit-Surgery provides open source libraries to support research and translation of applications for augmented reality in surgery [1]. This paper discusses recent de- velopments in SciKit-Surgery and case studies using SciKit-SurgeryBARD to support research into visuali- sation and user interface design for augmented reality in surgery [2], [3]. The availability of high quality software tools for re- search and translation is a key enabler for scientific progress. Research into surgical robotics, image guided surgery, and augmented reality for surgery brings to- gether many disciplines and depends on a strong en- gineering base to provide the tools that researchers need (e.g., hardware interfaces, data management, data processing, visualisation, and user interfaces). SciKit- Surgery was conceived as a more accessible replacement for existing toolkits written predominantly in C++. Ex- perience has taught us that whilst implementations in C++ could be robust and offer optimised performance, the need to learn the language and the difficulties of maintaining cross platform compilation presented a higher a barrier of entry for most researchers. Whilst research software can be initially developed using short term research grants, the longer term sustainability of the software depends on other researchers being able to contribute to the software, both for maintenance and to introduce new features. For that to happen the software needs to be compact, written in a language that be easily interpreted by humans, and well documented. We conceived SciKit-Surgery to be a set of individual Python modules that could be used on their own by researchers to explore a specific topic or assembled into high quality applications that could be rapidly deployed to clinic to enable translation from bench to bedside.
A novel stereoscopic thermal endoscope for tissue damage prevention
Authors:   University of Verona, Italy, Scutelnic Dumitru , De Rossi Giacomo ,   University of Verona, Italy, Piccinelli Nicola ,   University of Verona, Italy, Daffara Claudia ,   University of Verona, Italy, Siracusano Salvatore ,   University of L'Aquila, Italy, Muradore Riccardo ,   University of Verona, Italy
Published: June 2023

Multi-spectral imaging systems, namely thermal and visible spectrum imaging systems, are recently being employed successfully in multiple civilian applications, such as civil engineering , precision agriculture, and cultural heritage preservation [1], due to the more general availability of high-performing, compact sen- sors. The same success can not yet be appreciated in medical or surgical applications, with most examples of thermography in medicine being applied on the epidermis [2] or specialized applications with limited measurements [3]. Nevertheless, direct thermal tissue measurements could prove invaluable in laparoscopy and laparo-assisted robotic surgery, where bipolar electroco- agulation or ultrasonic energy are often used to achieve haemostasis to maximise a clear view of the surgical field. The temperatures exceed 45 ◦ C where disruption in the neurovascular bundles (NVB) functions was observed in vivo , with protein denaturation and subsequent cellular death occurring between 57 ◦ C and 65 ◦ C [4]. Coagulation by thermal energy can be considered responsible for the damage to the NVB that are intimately located on the lateral, posterolateral and posterior surface of the prostate during nerve-sparing robotic-assisted radical prostatec- tomy (RARP) [5]. This damage can decrease the chance of a full recovery of physiological functions after the procedure, namely the erection and urinary continence, which is estimated to be at 50% [6]. For this reason, cautery-free procedures have been evaluated to reduce the amount of induced thermal damage by using clips [7], but they introduce risk of unintentional neural bundle dissection. We present a novel endoscope prototype for minimal invasive surgery: it integrates full stereoscopic vision with 3D-mapped, direct thermal measurements to evaluate the heat propagation over the surface target tissue during bipolar coagulation. The precise mapping of the multi-spectral images would allow clinicians to quickly assess the risk of damage to sensitive tissues intra- operatively.
Augmented Reality-based Surgical Guidance for Anterior and Posterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors:   Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering, DGIST, South Korea, Jeung Deokgi , Lee Hyun-Joo ,   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital, South Korea, Kim Hee-June ,   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital, South Korea, Hong Jaesung ,   Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering, DGIST, South Korea
Published: June 2023

Anterior and posterior cruciate ligament (ACL and PCL) reconstructions are common knee arthroscopic surgeries. ACL and PCL reconstruction have small incision sites, thus enabling fast recovery of the patient. However, an arthroscope provides a limited view due to the small size of the camera lens, and a small incision restricts the motion of surgical instruments. As a result, finding the exact bone drilling position that was preoperatively determined to connect a new ligament between the femur and tibia is challenging during surgery. A previous study verified that the complication ratio of ACL and PCL reconstruction is 9.0 % and 20.1 %, respectively, which are particularly high compared to other knee arthroscopic surgeries [1]. Augmented reality (AR)-based surgical guidance can assist in difficult ACL and PCL reconstruction. Hu et al. [2] proposed AR-based non-invasive drilling guidance for the femur in open knee surgery. To implement the non-invasive system, they performed the registration between the depth data of the femur obtained from RGBD sensors and the pre-scanned femur model. However, this method is suitable for open knee surgery and is not for arthroscopic surgeries such as ACL and PCL reconstruction. Recently, Chen et al. [3] introduced non-invasive AR for knee arthroscopy. However, to reflect knee movements occurring during surgery in AR, it is necessary to manually select four anatomical landmarks in the arthroscopic view. Manual selection is inconvenient and may be inconsistent, interfering with surgical procedures. In this study, we propose a non-invasive AR-based surgical guidance for ACL and PCL reconstruction with compensation of the intraoperative knee movement. Unlike preoperative CT and MR, which are taken under the extension state, the knee is under the flexion state during surgery, which requires compensation for the knee movement. The proposed method estimates knee movement without direct bone exposure or manual intervention by exploring the correlation between the knee surface and the internal bones (femur and tibia) based on a finite element method. The proposed method can enhance the AR for knee arthroscopic procedures, leading to more accurate bone drilling for ACL or PCL reconstruction.
Meshless Modelling for Heat-based Robotic Navigation of Radio Frequency Catheter Ablation
Authors:   Mechanical Engineering Dept., University College London, UK, Mountris Konstantinos , Schilling Richard ,   Barts Heart Centre, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, UK, Casals Alicia ,   Research Center for Biomedical Engineering, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain, Wurdemann Helge ,   Mechanical Engineering Dept., University College London, UK
Published: June 2023

Radio frequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of cardiac arrhythmia is commonly performed by navigating the catheter manually. Nevertheless, remote navigation tech- niques where catheter steering is performed using either a magnetic field or robotically are available. Clinical ex- perience with these techniques demonstrated that higher contact forces can be achieved with robotic compared to magnetic field navigation [1]. This translates into more effective ablation lesions, but if excessive contact force is applied it may lead to higher risk of cardiac perforation [2]. However, the robotic navigation system is no longer commercially available and advancements have been stalled. To ensure high effectiveness and low complica- tion risk in next-gen robotic navigation systems, tissue heat distribution should be taken into account. Compu- tational models for heat distribution simulation predict lesion formation effectively [3]. However, their clinical application is limited since they have been developed for single-site ablation and numerical accuracy depends on the quality of mesh discretization. In this work, we propose a novel meshless model to simulate tissue heat distribution during robotic navigation assisted ablation. The model accounts for non-zero initial conditions and time dependent boundary conditions to simulate multi- site ablation. The meshless Fragile Points Method (FPM) is employed for the numerical solution of the model to ensure its suitability for clinical application, since FPM does not require the definition of a mesh [4], [5].
Dual Robot System for Autonomous Needle Insertion into Deep Vessels
Authors:   Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Italy, Civati Lorenzo , Koskinopoulou Maria ,   Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Italy, Santangelo Andrea ,   Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Italy, Mattos Leonardo S. ,   Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Italy
Published: June 2023

Precise needle insertion is a key operation in many medical procedures such as peripheral catheterization, cardiac endovascular treatments, biopsy and treatment of tumours in soft tissues such as breast, prostate and abdomen [1]. Among them, Central Venous Access (CVA) is a routine procedure typically performed by experienced clinicians under ultrasound or x-ray guidance in a surgical room environment. CVA is most commonly conducted in three deep vein locations: the internal jugular vein, the subclavian vein, and the femoral vein. During CVA, clinician should insert the needle while maintaining proper visualization of the target vessel (i.e. ultrasound-guided access). However, performing the de- tection and continuous visualization of the target vessel and simultaneously precisely controlling the needle inser- tion is not trivial. At the same time, complication rates during CVA range up to 15% (mechanical in 5-19% of patients; infectious in 5-26%; thrombotic in 2-26%) [2]. In this paper, we propose a dual robot system for autonomous needle insertion into deep vessels by enabling real-time visualization of the vein and adaptive trajectory planning to provide safe and quick interactions.
dVRK-based teleoperation of a CTR robot with stereovision feedback for neurosurgery
Authors:   The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, He Changyan , Nguyen Robert ,   The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, Diller Eric ,   University of Toronto, Canada, Drake James ,   The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, Looi Thomas ,   The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada
Published: June 2023

Decades of efforts have been made to minimize the invasiveness of the procedures inside the patient’s brain. Endoscopic tools are first developed and applied in neurosurgery, which significantly reduce the trauma to a limited number of small holes but also limit the surgeon’s reachability to the target tissue inside of the brain due to the tool’s rigidity. Flexible robotic tools are then introduced to perform the procedures with a minimally invasive approach [1] by providing enhanced dexterity with their tentacle-like body. However, intuitive and efficient manipulation of the robotic tools remains challenging because currently the surgeon manipulates the robotic tools with feedback of the monocular vision from a standard clinical neuro-endoscope suffering from lack of depth perception. In this paper, we propose a robotic system with a flexible end-effector and stere- ovision feedback for neurosurgery by integrating our previously-developed Concentric Tube Robot (CTR)[2], the da Vinci Robot Research Kit (dVRK) [3] and a customized dual endoscope camera subsystem. The CTR manipulator was teleoperated with the dVRK master tool manipulator (MTM). A virtual motion boundary was applied for the MTM by haptic feedback based on the CTR’s workspace to guide the operator to control the CTR within its motion range. The manipulation performance of the proposed system was experimentally evaluated and the results of that showed under the stereovision feedback the manipulation accuracy of the CTR is 2.8 mm and the image transmission latency is 1.5 seconds. This preliminary study suggests that our proposed system has the potential of improving surgeons’ manipulation performance in robot-assisted minimally invasive neurosurgery.
Design of a Flexible Bone Drill Using a Hydraulic Pressure Wave
Authors:   TU Delft, Netherlands, de Kater Esther P. , Kaptijn Tjalling G. ,   TU Delft, Netherlands, Sakes Aimée ,   TU Delft, Netherlands, Breedveld Paul ,   TU Delft, Netherlands
Published: June 2023

Orthopaedic surgery focuses on the musculoskeletal system and often involves drilling through bone for fracture fixation, bone fusion, or tendon repair. Currently, straight rigid bone drills are utilized to create a tunnel through bone. Although these rigid bone drills are relatively easy to use, it would be advantageous to have a bone drill that can deflect to reach challenging areas, minimise damage to surrounding tissue or create better paths for the fixation of bone anchors or tendons. For instance, in spinal fusion surgery, the use of curved paths combined with novel bone anchors could potentially improve the fixation strength of the bone anchors compared to the currently used pedicle screws. Currently, there are no commercial bone drills available that allow the surgeon to adjust the drilling trajectory during the intervention [1]. The design of steerable bone drills is challenging as the required flexibility to create a curved hole compromises the needed buckling resistance to advance the drill through hard material such as bone. The flexible catheter designed by Sakes et al. was able to successfully transfer an impulse that could be used to hammer through calcification in blood vessels [2]. The catheter comprises a flexible fluid-filled tube that is used to transfer the impulse to the distal tip of the catheter to hammer through the occlusion. Although bone has different characteristics and the diameter of a drilled tunnel for pedicle screws (4 mm) is considerably different from the diameter of a catheter, the use of a hydraulic pressure wave could be beneficial, as the use of an impulse increases the buckling resistance while allowing the required bending for the drilling of curved tunnels. Furthermore, there are indications that the use of an impulse lowers the required penetration load due to the damping of the surrounding tissue which acts as a reaction force. The goal of this study was, therefore, to investigate the use of a hydraulic pressure wave to hammer through bone in a flexible bone drill.
Predicting Wrist Ergonomics in Laparoscopy using the HandX®
Authors:   Human Xtensions, Israel, Meshorer Itai , Milstein Amit ,   Human Xtensions, Israel, Nathan Oliver ,   Human Xtensions, Israel, Soffer Lior ,   Human Xtensions, Israel, Rattner Barak ,   Human Xtensions, Israel, Sudak Michal ,   Human Xtensions, Israel, Szold Amir ,   Human Xtensions, Assia Medical Group Tel Aviv, Israel
Published: June 2023

Laparoscopic surgery has become increasingly popular due to its benefits over open surgery. However, one of the major challenges in laparoscopic surgery is the ergonomics of the surgeon. Ergonomics plays a crucial role in laparoscopic surgery, as surgeons are at risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to prolonged and repetitive motions [1,2]. One of the most common areas affected by MSDs in surgeons is the wrist, which can be affected by various factors such as handle design, awkward postures, and high force demands [3]. Laparoscopic surgery requires precise and delicate movements, that can put a significant strain on the wrist. Wrist flexion and deviation refer to the bending of the wrist forward and backward and twisting of the wrist to the left or right, respectively. Optimal wrist posture minimizes the degree of flexion and deviation, allowing for a neutral wrist position. On the other hand, excessive wrist flexion and deviation can lead to musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and reduced grip strength. Neutral wrist posture with a lower degree of flexion and deviation has been shown to reduce musculoskeletal symptoms, increase dexterity, and improve surgical precision. Additionally, forearm rotation (pronation and supination) also plays a role in wrist ergonomics. Based on the rapid upper limb assessment (RULA), for wrist flexion/extension a range of 0-15° is recommended, and close to neutral position for wrist deviation, whilst pronation or supination of the forearm is considered ergonomic for up to 45° [4], [5]. The HandX® [6] is a hand-held laparoscopic, software-driven, robotic platform, used to manipulate 5mm fully articulating instruments. The HandX has four robotic degree-of-freedom (DoF), here we focus on the two DoF’s for controlling articulation. The HandX’s sphere-like control interface (CI) allows the surgeon to manipulate the articulated instruments' end-effector in all directions, over two axes: pitch and yaw
Evolutionary Deep Learning using hybrid EEG-fNIRS-ECG Signals to Cognitive Workload Classification in Laparoscopic Surgeries
Authors:   Imperial College London, UK, Solis Adrian Rubio , Jin Kaizhe ,   Imperial College London, UK, Naik Ravi ,   Imperial College London, UK, Mylonas George ,   Imperial College London, UK
Published: June 2023

Deep learning classifiers have demonstrated their ability to provide robust accuracy for the treatment of com- bined signals including electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) [1], [2]. In this work, an evolutionary deep learning strategy is applied to classify different cognitive workload states that surgeons experience during laparoscopic surgery. The proposed learning strategy is applied to train an Evolutionary Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (E- MLPNN), where multimodal raw data of EEG, fNIRS and Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals were collected and concatenated from a series of ten experiments using the back-end platform Multi-sensing AI Environment for Surgical Task & Role Optimisation (MAESTRO) as shown in Figure 1(a). Each experiment required surgical trainees to perform a simulated laparoscopic cholecystec- tomy (LCH), i.e. the removal of a gallbladder in a porcine model using a minimally invasive surgical technique as demonstrated in Figure 1(b). At each experiment, the level of Cognitive Workload (CWL) is assumed to increase as the mental activity increases during the surgical operation. As presented in Figure 1c, a number of tasks performed during the LCH were defined to measure the level of CWL