XReality (XR) is an area that develops in waves, driven by breakthroughs in hardware and software. The most recent wave has seen a surge in commercialization, leading to experimental applications of XR in a wide variety of fields, like for example in surgical training.

Haptic feedback has the potential to further improve XR-based surgical training and robotic-assisted procedures, but its integration remains a challenge due to technical and conceptual complexities. So, the role of haptic feedback in enhancing the XR user experience remains underexplored.

This thesis explores how haptic feedback can be effectively integrated into simulated ureteral anastomosis, a procedure performed in urologic surgery. A user study will be conducted in which participants interact with a virtual surgical environment using haptic-enabled controllers. Their experiences will be assessed through qualitative methods, including think-aloud protocols and semistructured interviews, to gain insights into their perceived realism, usability challenges, and design preferences.

The findings of this study will contribute to the development of design guidelines for integrating haptic feedback into virtual surgical simulations, specifically for robotic-assisted ureteral anastomosis, with the goal of supporting more immersive and intuitive virtual surgical environments.

This thesis is conducted in collaboration with:

• Experimental Surgery | Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

• MaibornWolff GmbH