Training Surgeons' Visual Scanning Pattern in Laparoscopic Surgery to Enhance Patient Safety

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Medical Simulation
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Effective visual scanning is crucial for patient safety in surgery.
• Traditional surgical training often lacks explicit instruction on environmental awareness.
• Eye-tracking technology offers a novel method to analyze and improve visual attention during procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel approach for teaching visual scanning skills in surgery using eye-tracking technology.
• To enhance environmental awareness in novice surgeons through integrated simulation training.
• To assess the impact of eye-tracking based training on visual scanning patterns and learning curves.

Main Methods:

• A prospective controlled study involving 15 novice participants in a laparoscopic simulation setting.
• Experimental group received conventional training plus eye-tracking videos and environmental awareness instruction.
• Visual scanning patterns and task completion times were measured across six training sessions.

Main Results:

• The experimental group showed significantly improved visual scanning of environmental inputs (e.g., vital signs, equipment).
• No significant difference in task completion times was observed between the control and experimental groups.
• Eye-tracking effectively guided attention toward critical, non-primary monitor elements.

Conclusions:

• Eye-tracking technology is a valuable tool for training visual scanning in image-guided surgery.
• Integrating patient safety skills, like environmental scanning, early in surgical education is supported by these findings.
• This approach enhances surgical trainees' awareness and potentially improves patient outcomes.