Feasibility and Safety of Dual-console Telesurgery with the KangDuo Surgical Robot-01 System Using Fifth-generation and Wired Networks: An Animal Experiment and Clinical Study

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has drawn attention to telesurgery. Important advances in fifth-generation (5G) mobile telecommunication technology have facilitated the rapid evolution of telesurgery. Previously, only a single console was used in telesurgery; thus, there was the possibility of open or laparoscopic conversion. Furthermore, the 5G network has not been available for regional hospitals in China. From October 2021 to April 2022, dual-console telesurgeries with the KangDuo Surgical Robot-01 (KD-SR-01) system were performed using 5G and wired networks in an animal experiment and clinical study. A partial nephrectomy in a porcine model was performed successfully using a wired network. The console time, warm ischemia time, and control swap time were 69 min, 27 min, and 3 s, respectively. The mean latency time was 130 (range, 60-200) ms. A 32-yr-old male patient successfully underwent a remote pyeloplasty using a series connection of 5G wireless and wired networks. The console time and control swap time were 98 min and 3 s, respectively. The mean latency time was 271 (range, 206-307) ms. In the two studies, data pocket loss was <1%. The results demonstrated that dual-console telesurgery with the KD-SR-01 system is feasible and safe using 5G technology helped in the rapid evolution of telesurgery. Dual-console telesurgery performed with the KD-SR-01 system using 5G and wired networks was shown to be feasible and safe in an animal experiment and clinical study. (c) 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Association of Urology. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/4.0/).