TY - JOUR
T1 - Mobile service robots for the operating room wing
T2 - balancing cost and performance by optimizing robotic fleet size and composition
AU - Bernhard, Lukas
AU - Amalanesan, Antony Francis
AU - Baumann, Oskar
AU - Rothmeyer, Florian
AU - Hafner, Yannic
AU - Berlet, Maximilian
AU - Wilhelm, Dirk
AU - Knoll, Alois
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - Purpose: Integrating fleets of mobile service robots into the operating room wing (OR wing) has the potential to help overcome staff shortages and reduce the amount of dull or unhealthy tasks for humans. However, the OR wing has been little studied in this regard and the requirements for realizing this vision have not yet been fully identified. This includes fundamental aspects such as fleet size and composition, which we have now studied comprehensively for the first time. Methods: Using simulation, 150 different scenarios with varying fleet compositions, robot speeds and workloads were studied for a setup based on a real-life OR wing. The simulation included battery recharging cycles and queueing due to shared resources. Results: For all simulated scenarios we report results regarding total duration of execution, average task response times and fleet utilization. The relationship between these performance measures and global scenario parameters—such as fleet size, fleet composition, robot velocity and the number of operating rooms to be served—is visualized. Conclusion: Our simulation-based studies have proven to be a valuable tool for individualized dimensioning of mobile robotic fleets, based on realistic workflows and environmental models. Thereby, important implications for future developments of mobile robots have been identified and a basis of decision-making regarding fleet size, fleet composition, robot capabilities and robot velocities can be provided. Due to costs, space limitations and safety requirements, these aspects must be carefully considered to successfully integrate mobile robotic technology into real-world OR wing environments.
AB - Purpose: Integrating fleets of mobile service robots into the operating room wing (OR wing) has the potential to help overcome staff shortages and reduce the amount of dull or unhealthy tasks for humans. However, the OR wing has been little studied in this regard and the requirements for realizing this vision have not yet been fully identified. This includes fundamental aspects such as fleet size and composition, which we have now studied comprehensively for the first time. Methods: Using simulation, 150 different scenarios with varying fleet compositions, robot speeds and workloads were studied for a setup based on a real-life OR wing. The simulation included battery recharging cycles and queueing due to shared resources. Results: For all simulated scenarios we report results regarding total duration of execution, average task response times and fleet utilization. The relationship between these performance measures and global scenario parameters—such as fleet size, fleet composition, robot velocity and the number of operating rooms to be served—is visualized. Conclusion: Our simulation-based studies have proven to be a valuable tool for individualized dimensioning of mobile robotic fleets, based on realistic workflows and environmental models. Thereby, important implications for future developments of mobile robots have been identified and a basis of decision-making regarding fleet size, fleet composition, robot capabilities and robot velocities can be provided. Due to costs, space limitations and safety requirements, these aspects must be carefully considered to successfully integrate mobile robotic technology into real-world OR wing environments.
KW - Fleet management
KW - Operating room wing
KW - Service robotics
KW - Surgical workflow optimization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137757709&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11548-022-02735-8
DO - 10.1007/s11548-022-02735-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 36088614
AN - SCOPUS:85137757709
SN - 1861-6410
VL - 18
SP - 195
EP - 204
JO - International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery
JF - International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery
IS - 2
ER -