A Multidimensional Perspective on Network Conditions in Telesurgery

Telesurgery enables remote access to surgical care using robotic systems, with performance influenced by the conditions of the network over which the procedure is performed. Existing studies primarily evaluate individual parameters in isolation, such as latency or bandwidth, neglecting that real‐world networks can exhibit multiple impairments simultaneously. In this work, we understand network conditions as a multidimensional space and analyze their combined effects on telesurgical performance. We conducted a pilot user study using in vitro neurovascular navigation tasks performed remotely with an electromagnetic navigation system across varying levels of latency, bandwidth, jitter, and packet loss. We investigated how performance degrades under worsening network conditions and employed response surface methodology to identify significant parameters and interactions. Results show that degraded network conditions lead to reduced perceived feasibility, longer completion times, and higher overshoot. Performance depends on multiple parameters and their interactions, with latency and packet loss as dominant factors. These findings highlight the importance of multidimensional network characterization for understanding telesurgery performance and its practical deployment. This work provides the foundation for deriving system‐specific network requirements and identifying reliable and safe operating regions for telesurgical robotic systems.