Continuous Monitoring of Mental Load During Virtual Simulator Training for Laparoscopic Surgery Reflects Laparoscopic...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical Education
• Surgical Simulation

Background:

• Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) explains working memory efficiency.
• Training enhances performance and reduces cognitive load, measurable via EEG frontal theta band.
• Simulation-based training is crucial for surgical skill acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure cognitive load in medical students and interns during surgical simulation.
• To assess readiness for real surgery by monitoring brain activity.
• To evaluate the efficacy of simulation training using EEG biomarkers.

Main Methods:

• 38 medical students/interns performed laparoscopic tasks on a Simbionix LAP MENTOR simulator.
• Single-channel EEG (Aurora by Neurosteer) monitored brain activity.
• Experiments examined behavioral performance and cognitive load biomarkers (delta, theta, VC9) across trials with varying retention times.

Main Results:

• Behavioral performance improved with task repetition.
• Delta band and the novel VC9 biomarker significantly decreased with repetition and better performance.
• Theta activity also showed a decrease with higher performance.

Conclusions:

• EEG markers (delta, VC9, theta) correlate with reduced cognitive load and improved performance in surgical simulation.
• The novel VC9 biomarker demonstrates high sensitivity to cognitive load.
• These neuroimaging assessments can optimize medical simulation training and evaluate cognitive load in real surgeries.