The Effects of Force Feedback on Surgical Task Performance: A Meta-Analytical Integration

Since the introduction of surgical robots into clinical practice, there has been a lively debate about the potential benefits and the need to implement haptic feedback for the surgeon. In the current article, a quantitative review of empirical findings from 21 studies (N = 332 subjects) is provided. Using meta-analytical methods, we found moderate effects on task accuracy (g =.61), large effect sizes of additional force feedback on average forces (g = .82) and peak forces (g = 1.09) and no effect on task completion times (g = -.05) when performing surgical tasks. Moreover, the magnitude of the force feedback effect was attenuated when visual depth information was available.