Surgical Skills Training and Assessment Instrument (SUSTAIN) Mobile App

This Subsequent Phase II Proposal is an extension of Phase II contract N00014-11-C-0420. The overall objective of the proposed Subsequent Phase II effort is to develop and provide initial validation for a mobile training platform and framework that will support optimized refresher training for a variety of medical skills. Maintenance of specialized skills during periods of nonuse presents a significant problem within the military medical domain, and there is currently an alarming lack of research and development to support scientifically-grounded retraining pedagogy for such complex skills. Leveraging surgical skill decay research and a prototype glove-based training interface developed under the initial SBIR effort, this effort seeks to develop and validate a Surgical Skills Training and Assessment Instrument (SUSTAIN) mobile app platform, which will enable psychomotor and cognitive skills to be trained and assessed in isolation, as well as in conjunction with multi-dimensional skill components. Additionally, this interface will support interactive instruction, providing additional engagement and motivation, which is lacking in many mobile and web-based training curricula. Options are proposed to transition this technology and extend this capability to the domain of Combat Casualty Care.