Machine Learning-based Surgical Guidance System for Robot-assisted Rectal Surgery

Assessment of pelvic function before and after rectal resection

Rectal function will be assessed preoperatively and 12-15 months postoperatively using the standard LARS score questionnaire, resulting in a score between 0 and 42. Higher scores mean a worse outcome (worse pelvic function).

Time frame: 15 months

Rectal sphincter function before and after rectal resection

Sphincter function will be assessed by manometry preoperatively and 12 - 15 months postoperatively

Time frame: 15 months

Assessment of the difficulty of the preparation

Surgeon questionnaire, the questionnaire qualitatively assesses nine items, each item scoring from "not at all" to "very much", evaluated individually

Time frame: 48 hours after surgery

Assessment of usability of guidance system

One-time final survey of all participating surgeons, the questionnaire qualitatively assesses nine items, each item scoring from "not at all" to "very much", evaluated individually

Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 6 months