Comparison of Percutaneous Renal Access Between Robot-Assisted Fluoroscopy Guidance Using the Bi-Plane Method and Ultrasound Guidance: A Multicenter Randomized Control Benchtop Study

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of supine percutaneous renal access by robot-assisted (RA) fluoroscopy and ultrasound (US) guidance in terms of procedural outcomes and surgeon workload.Methods: We conducted a multicenter, randomized, controlled benchtop study involving 32 urologists using a renal phantom model. RA puncture was performed using the developed version of automated needle targeting with X-ray (ANT-X), which determines the direction of the needle. US puncture was performed under US guidance. The primary endpoint was the single-puncture success rate, and the secondary outcomes were the procedural time for each step, time of fluoroscopic exposure, and workload assessment.Results: The single-puncture success rates were 90.6% and 56.3% for RA and US punctures, respectively (p < 0.01). In RA puncture, the median device setup time was 120 seconds longer, the median total procedural time was 100 seconds longer, the median time of fluoroscopic exposure was 40 seconds longer, the median needle puncture time was 17 seconds shorter, and the distance from the target sphere was 1 cm shorter than those in US puncture (all p < 0.01). The mental and physical task workload, effort required by the surgeons, frustration felt by the surgeons, and overall National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index scores were lower in the RA puncture group than in the US puncture group (p = 0.01, p = 0.046, p < 0.01, p = 0.021, and p <= 0.01, respectively).Conclusions: RA puncture using ANT-X, which can also be used for puncture in the supine position, offers advantages over renal puncture in terms of accuracy and surgical workload