itself, and perceived learning curves for achieving skilled status with the robot. Figure 1 - The da Vinci Surgical System PERCEPTIONS OF SURGICAL ROBOTICS - Gilbert, Kechris, Marchese, Pelletier - 8 - Previous Research In order to better understand how individualsperceiverobot-assisted surgery, the project group investigated similar previously published literature. Few studies exist that coincide with any pertinent aspect of the current research study. Upon review of the existing research several factors regarding how individuals perceive surgical procedures arose: is it safe? What is the risk? What happens if the robot breaks? What will it cost? One particular study, entitled 'Robotic Prostatectomy: is it the Future?' by Thomas E. Ahlering MD, gives insight into the benefits of robot-assisted surgery and the volumedependent costs associated with the new technology. These robotic devices require increased preparation time, and the surgical proceduresconsume more time than traditional laparoscopic surgery. Despite the increased preparation and surgical times, the recovery times and risks of complication appear to decrease. Ultimately, post-operative hospitalizationand associated costs are reduced.iii While this study was very telling as far as factual aspects of robot-assisted surgery are concerned, it did not delve into the softer features of robot-assisted surgery, such as social perceptions. For example, robotassisted surgery often lengthens the actual surgical time in the operating room. Is the length of the surgery accurately perceived by people? If so, which populations? Not everyone believes that robot-assisted surgery is the way of the future; somecritics believe that it is not a worthwhile investment. In a study performed at the Duke University Medical Center, researchers found that patients who had undergonerobot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy were most frequently dissatisfied with the procedure or left with feelings of regret. They propose that patients' preconceived expectations of this new surgical procedure were unrealistically higher than usual, thus they were left unsatisfied with the procedure. ivResearchers from the Guys and St. Thomas Hospital National Health Service Foundation Trust and Kings College London School of Medicine discovered the opposite, stating that patients were more satisfied with the treatment but that they requested more information on the procedure prior to treatment.v PERCEPTIONS OF SURGICAL ROBOTICS - Gilbert, Kechris, Marchese, Pelletier - 9 - Robot-assisted surgery, like laparoscopic surgery, is less invasive than open surgery reducingrecovery time whencompared toopen surgeries. In December 2005, The Journal of Urology published an article entitled Local Cost Structures and the Economics of Robot Assisted Radical Prostatectomy which analyzed the costs surrounding a common robotic assisted procedure. Researchers investigated the economics of robot-assisted prostatectomy and found that the costs associated with the technology are volume dependent. Their research examined how the cost of robot-assisted prostatecotmieswere economically advantageous when higher volumes of procedures were performed.vi In order for a surgeon to perform surgery using a robotic device they must firstundergo extensive training. A group of Canadian researchers investigated the learning curve of robot-assisted surgery, or the time that it took a surgeon to stabilize operation time while using the da Vinci system. The researchers found the learning curve for performing benign gynecological procedures to be fifty operations at ninety-five minutes per operation.vii This assumes that the surgeon could proficiently perform the surgery with non-robotic tools. This research helped to better understand how many surgeries are necessary to become proficient using the system. Again, however, this research did not address how the learning curve is perceived. In addition to this, these research studies did not investigate how the nature of robot-assisted surgery is perceived by the public with regard to its comparative relationships with both laparoscopic and open surgery. Several of the interviewed doctors, including Dr. Hiep Nguyen of Children’s Hospital Boston, actually commented on how robot-assisted surgery is actually more closely related to open surgery than to laparoscopic surgery. PERCEPTIONS OF SURGICAL ROBOTICS - Gilbert, Kechris, Marchese, Pelletier - 10 - Project Goals The aim of this project were: · to investigaterelations between a persons’background, experience, and their perceptions of surgical robotics by gathering data from three populations: Post-operative patients having undergone robot-assisted surgery, general public, and practitioners of robot-assisted surgery · to analyzethe data from the responses · to discuss the relationships found Hypothesis As exploratory research, this study was conducted primarily with the intent of discovering patterns and differences in opinions and feelings between the following surveyed populations: general public, patients having undergone robot-assisted surgery, and practitioners involved with robot-assisted surgery. Our hypothesis was that differences exist between and within the surveyed populations regarding perceptions of robot-assisted surgery with regard to other factors. The corresponding null hypothesis was that