The human-technology interface in traditional minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is difficult for the surgeon. Efforts to improve this interface include the use of robotic surgery systems. Ergonomics studies are required to help understand and improve the MIS user interface.

We have developed a tetherless virtual instrument (VI) ergonomics workstation for measuring the physical workloads and stress levels of surgeons performing MIS. The workstation records physiological measures of workload and stress and audio and multiple channels of video. The workstation frees up the subject so that studies can be performed in complex and realistic settings, including the operating room.

We illustrate the use of the tetherless ergonomics workstation in a study to compare performance and workload for manual and robotically-assisted MIS. The surgeon volunteers were experienced with manual MIS but had no previous experience with the robotic system. The study results showed that the robotic system reduced the workload and stress levels for these subjects but somewhat degraded their performance. Additional studies are needed to determine the relative effects on performance of user inexperience and the robotic interface.