Prevention of Laparoscopic Sugical Skill Attrition

Clear needs exists for a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of laparoscopic surgical skill acquisition and decay, objective metrics with which to assess these skills over time, and simulation-based training that supports rapid acquisition, longitudinal retention, and targeted retraining for sustainment of these critical and perishable skills. The proposed SBIR effort seeks to develop and validate a skill acquisition/decay model, novel objective metrics, and simulation-based training strategies for the prevention of laparoscopic surgical skills attrition. Objective metrics assessed will include advanced simulator-based metrics and metrics derived from instrument tracking, motion tracking, and vision tracking technologies, as well as advanced cognitive assessment technologies capable of assessing learning and cognitive workload. The ultimate goal of this effort is to integrate the resulting system within standardized military medical training curricula for enhanced training and sustainment of these critical skills.