Enhancing skill learning with dual-user haptic feedback: insights from a task-specific approach

Introduction: This study was to examine whether inter-user haptic feedback would have a differential impact on skill acquisition based on the nature of the surgical task involved. Specifically, we hypothesized that haptic feedback would facilitate target orientation more than cutting tasks in the context of laparoscopic surgery. Methods: Ten novice participants were recruited and assigned to one of two training groups. Each group underwent six half-hour training sessions dedicated to laparoscopic pattern-cutting tasks. In the haptic group, five participants received expert guidance during the training sessions, whereas the remaining five participants in the control group engaged in self-practice. All trials were recorded on video, enabling a comparative analysis of task performance between the participants' left hand (target manipulation) and right hand (cutting task). Additionally, the number of haptic feedback instances provided to the trainees in the haptic group was recorded. Results: Practice led to a reduction in total task time, grasping time, and cutting errors. However, no significant differences were observed between the two training groups, except for the grasping time, where haptic feedback significantly reduced the grasping time compared to the control group. Moreover, the frequency of haptic feedback instances provided to the trainees was notably higher for the grasping than for the cutting task. Discussion: Our study suggests that haptic feedback has a more substantial impact on orientation tasks than on cutting tasks in laparoscopic surgery training. However, we acknowledge that a larger sample size would provide a more robust evaluation of this effect.