Reimagining Surgery for Rural Needs: Robotics Teleoperation (2025-2026)
Background
In North Carolina, 92% of counties currently have a shortage of health professionals. This shortage affects over 2 million residents and is projected to widen over time, exacerbating disparities in healthcare access. As a direct consequence of this shortage, many patients in rural regions are denied access to modern surgical techniques that, while safer and more accurate, require specially trained clinicians.
In recent decades, promising new low-cost, multi-purpose, non-conventional surgical tools have been developed to improve surgical outcomes and minimize hospitalization time, including optical coherence tomography (OCT) and laser-based scalpels. However, deployment of these tools in clinics requires skilled operators, which can be difficult to find in rural counties. To address diverse cases in areas with low population density, there is a need for multi-purpose intraoperative surgical technology with reduced setup cost and teleoperation capability.
Project Description
This project team will aim to bring the benefits of advanced surgical technologies to rural clinics in North Carolina by developing a novel teleoperated laser surgery platform. This remote, robot-assisted platform will help facilitate precise, minimally invasive surgeries for conditions requiring instant hemostasis and soft tissue resection.
Team members will break into subteams to pursue three interconnected aims:
- Design and build an integrated robotic system with OCT 3D imaging and an FDA-approved laser scalpel. This subteam will then perform initial tissue phantom validation experiments, update the prototype based on clinician feedback, implement various safety routines for edge cases and conduct robust validation experiments with ex vivo tissue.
- Scope surgical need in detail by interviewing clinicians in rural hospitals and clinics in 8-10 counties around the Triangle area. This subteam will develop a comprehensive initial survey to gather key information from rural clinicians, then travel to rural hospitals to conduct clinician interviews using the survey template they design. They will then administer a second survey to gather feedback on the prototype.
- Develop an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) and controller combining surgical scene visualization and robotic laser control. This will include gathering information on successful medical GUIs by visiting medical facilities and interacting with popular medical devices such as the da Vinci robotic surgical system. The subteam will then update the GUI design based on clinician feedback.
Anticipated Outputs
Remote, robot-assisted laser surgery platform prototype; report on surgical needs analysis of rural clinics; academic journal articles and conference presentations
Student Opportunities
Ideally, this project team will include 4 graduate students and 8 undergraduate students. Graduate applicants should have specialized backgrounds in laser optics, OCT imaging, remote medicine implementation or medical device design. Undergraduate students may come from disciplines such as mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, robotics, computer science, medical sociology, global health, public policy, cultural anthropology, sociology and pre-medical studies.
Team members will gain hands-on experience in developing medical technology while understanding real-world implementation challenges. Engineering students will work on integrating OCT imaging with laser control systems, developing a telesurgery interface GUI and conducting benchtop testing. They will gain practical skills in medical device development, robotic control systems and FDA compliance requirements. Social science students will lead clinician interviews, analyze qualitative data and translate clinical needs into technical requirements.
Graduate team members will have unique leadership opportunities, such as mentoring undergraduate students, contributing to grant writing and publication development, building relationships with clinical partners and presenting at conferences.
In Fall 2025, the team will meet on Fridays from 2-3 p.m.
Some students will travel to counties near the Triangle to interview clinicians. A few students may have the opportunity to travel to a translational engineering conference in May 2026.
Timing
Summer 2025 – Spring 2026
- Summer 2025 (optional): Apply for IRB approval; make initial equipment purchases; complete laser safety training; establish contacts with hospitals and clinics in nearby counties
- Fall 2025: Build system prototype; validate with tissue phantoms; create clinician survey; conduct 20+ interviews across 8-10 counties; develop GUI framework; research medical GUIs
- Spring 2026: Update prototype with clinician feedback; add safety routines; validate with ex vivo tissue; develop and administer feedback survey on prototype; assess usability and ergonomics; refine GUI with prototype elements; improve data displays; add control widgets
Crediting
Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters; summer funding available