Remote View Control Improves Efficiency in Surgical Telementoring

In surgical telementoring, a remote mentor relies on the camera view managed by a local mentee. To meet the mentor’s visual needs, the mentee must follow both task-specific and view-specific instructions, which increases communication demands. We investigate the impacts of providing the remote mentor direct control of the endoscopic view during surgical telementoring, using a robotic endoscope holder. We conducted a controlled study with 28 surgeons comparing remote-only view control to local-only view control in sorting and pattern identification tasks designed to represent the mentor’s informational needs. The results show that remote view control improves efficiency in surgical telementoring by reducing the need for view-related communication, reducing endoscope movement, and creating new learning opportunities for the mentee. These findings highlight the potential of implementing remote endoscope control in surgical telementoring systems, and inform further research on hybrid approaches that integrate both local and remote control.