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Assessing Laparoscopic Surgical Skills Using Similarity Network Models: A Pilot Study.
Elham Rastegari1, Donovan Orn2, Mohsen Zahiri3
1Department of Business Intelligence and Analytics, 6216Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.
Surgical Innovation
|March 22, 2021
Summary
A new similarity network model objectively assesses laparoscopic surgical skills in medical trainees. This framework helps determine skill readiness for advancement, improving surgical education and device training.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Surgical Skills Assessment
- Medical Device Training
Background:
- Medical devices are increasingly complex, necessitating rapid skill acquisition by physicians.
- Objective assessment of laparoscopic surgical skills and advancement readiness remains a challenge.
- A gap exists in objective models for comparing trainee and experienced physician performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a graph-based similarity network model for evaluating laparoscopic surgical skills.
- To objectively assess medical trainees' skill levels and readiness for progression.
- To compare performance between medical students and residents using medical devices.
Main Methods:
- Utilized similarity network models for individual and combined tasks.
- Analyzed performance data from 16 participants (5 residents, 11 students) across 3 tasks and training schedules.
- Established a criterion where student-resident similarity indicates competence for the next training level.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated positive progression in student performance over four training sessions.
- Observed performance variations based on different training schedules.
- Found that closely spaced training sessions accelerate skill acquisition compared to widely spaced ones.
Conclusions:
- Proposed a graph-based framework for evaluating learner performance on medical devices.
- Highlighted the utility of similarity network analysis for classifying performance and informing training decisions.
- Facilitated objective decision-making regarding trainee progression through curricula.
