https://www.hksmp.com/journals/mr/issue/feedMedRobot2025-03-06T10:35:22+08:00Wison Zhangwilson.zhang@medrobotics.orgOpen Journal Systems<p>MedRobot is dedicated to the dissemination of researches in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine and health care from the interdisciplinary perspective. Original research should focus on the theory and/or application of AI and computer science techniques on supporting clinical decision making and improving the performance of health care. The journal’s scope encompasses broaden aspects of AI in medicine, including but not limited to, natural language processing in medicine, knowledge-based and multi-agent systems, automated reasoning and inference in medicine, machine learning in healthcare, computational intelligence and models for medicine, data analytics and mining for medical decision, methodological and ethical issues of AI in health care, etc.</p>https://www.hksmp.com/journals/mr/article/view/787Enhancers and disruptors of effective communication during robot-assisted surgery: A multispecialty observation study2025-02-11T08:40:46+08:00Shing Wai Wongsw.wong@unsw.edu.auKyaw Lin Htikesw.wong@unsw.edu.auSurya Krishnansw.wong@unsw.edu.auJuman Farjosw.wong@unsw.edu.auRichard Savdiesw.wong@unsw.edu.auAndrew Richardssw.wong@unsw.edu.auMark Muhlmannsw.wong@unsw.edu.auAllan Parkessw.wong@unsw.edu.auPhilip Crowesw.wong@unsw.edu.au<p>Background: The introduction of robotic surgery has challenged effective communication because of the separation of the<br />surgeon. The aim of this study was to investigate factors that may enhance or disrupt effective communication during robotic<br />surgery. Methods: An observational study of 32 robotic cases involving seven surgeons at Prince of Wales Private Hospital<br />was conducted between February 2024 and July 2024. The primary measure were the frequency of enhancing or disrupting<br />communication flow influencers. Welch's two-tailed unpaired t test was used to compare the following variables: surgeon,<br />team familiarity, and hour-block of surgery. Results: The mean number of hourly communication enhancers was 3.7 ± 1.5<br />for the principal investigator (PI) surgeon and 5.7 ± 3.1 for the other surgeons (P = 0.02), respectively. The mean number of<br />hourly communication disrupters was 2.0 ± 1.1 for the PI surgeon and 2.3 ± 1.8 for the other surgeons (P = 0.63),<br />respectively. The statistically significant difference in communication enhancers between surgeons was confounded by the<br />operation duration and was abolished when only the first two hours of surgery were compared. The mean number of hourly<br />communication enhancers was 4.15 ± 1.92 for the less familiar team and 5.81 ± 3.30 for the familiar team (P = 0.09),<br />respectively, while the mean number of hourly communication disruptors was 2.00 ± 1.20 for the less familiar team and 2.42<br />± 1.95 for the familiar team (P = 0.47). With regard to the hour-block of robotic console surgery time, analysis of variance<br />showed statistical differences in the mean number of communication enhancers and disruptors, with P < 0.001 and P =<br />0.004, respectively. Conclusion: The statistically significant reduction in the number of enhancing communication technique<br />uses based on operation duration may be reflective of increased cognitive fatigue.</p>2025-03-06T00:00:00+08:00Copyright (c) 2025 Medical Robotics