Quantification of surgical technique using an inertial measurement unit

Area of Science:

• Surgical Skill Assessment
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Biomechanical Engineering

Background:

• Algorithmic information content quantifies hand motion patterns in surgical tasks.
• Previous studies showed reduced complexity with expertise in knot tying.
• This study investigated complexity during a venous anastomosis task.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test if hand motion pattern complexity decreases with surgical expertise in venous anastomosis.
• To compare motion patterns of novice and expert surgeons during a specific surgical task.

Main Methods:

• Used custom inertial measurement units to record 6-DOF hand motion.
• Collected data from novice (PGY1-2 residents) and expert (attending surgeons) groups.
• Calculated Lempel-Ziv complexity from symbolic time series of motion data.

Main Results:

• Expert surgeons displayed significantly more complex hand motion patterns (P=0.01).
• The complexity of motion patterns increased with surgical expertise in this task.

Conclusions:

• The hypothesis of reduced complexity with expertise was not supported for venous anastomosis.
• Expertise may involve using simpler sub-patterns within more complex overall motion structures.
• Findings suggest a hierarchical organization of surgical skills.