Skills assessment for laparoscopic surgery based on computer analysis metrics: ScopePro Trainer

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Medical Simulation
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Laparoscopic surgery requires specialized psychomotor skills.
• Objective assessment tools are crucial for surgical training and evaluation.
• Existing tracking systems may not fully capture instrument motion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the construct validity of the ScopePro Trainer system.
• To determine its effectiveness in training and objectively assessing surgeons' psychomotor laparoscopic skills.

Main Methods:

• Four surgeons, eight residents, and twenty medical students participated.
• Participants performed FLS-based tasks using conventional instruments and the ScopePro Trainer.
• Six metrics (time, linear/angular motion) were used, with statistical analysis via ANOVA and t-tests.

Main Results:

• The ScopePro Trainer visually represented instrument paths and calculated motion metrics.
• Significant differences in participant skills were observed across the three surgical training tasks.
• The system demonstrated its ability to differentiate skill levels.

Conclusions:

• The ScopePro Trainer system is validated as an effective tool for laparoscopic skill assessment.
• It successfully differentiates between varying levels of laparoscopic expertise.
• ScopePro provides an alternative to traditional tracking for analyzing surgical instrument rotation.