Arthroscopic surgery of the shoulder is used to treat a number of disorders such as repair of torn tendon, rectifying chronic dislocation, and for diagnosis. Arthroscopic shoulder surgery requires a high level of skill, which takes several years of training to achieve. This is due to the needed detailed knowledge of shoulder anatomy combined with a high level of skill in hand-eye coordination to control the arthroscope and instruments such as tweezers, needle, and scissors. Developing this expertise in students requires continuous supervision and feedback from an expert surgeon. It is important to have objective assessment of the psychomotor skills so that surgical students can clearly understand their mistakes. An important aspect of the psychomotor skill is the ability to focus attention on the appropriate areas of the surgical site during various stages of a procedure.
This project makes use of eye tracking technology to study the focus of attention and cognitive load of expert and novice surgeons in performing arthroscopic diagnosis of the shoulder and tendon repair. Expert and novice surgeons in shoulder arthroscopy will carry out both procedures. Gaze and pupil dialation data will be gathered using an eye tracker. The data will be analyzed to determine the focus of attention at various points in the procedures, the cognitive load as indicated by pupil dilation, and the differences between experts and novices. This will be the first such study ever carried out for shoulder arthroscopy. The results will form the basis for later development of a training simulator that will teach students how to navigate with the arthroscope and what aspects to focus on a various points in the procedure.
PIs: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Paphon Sa-Ngasoongsong, Department of Orthopedics, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University; Dr. Myat Su Yin, Faculty of ICT, Mahidol University
Project Members:
• Prof. Dr. Peter Haddawy, Faculty of ICT, Mahidol University
• Dr. Akara Supratak, Faculty of ICT, Mahidol University
• PD Dr. Holger Schultheis, Faculty of Informatics, Univ of Bremen.
• Prof. Dr. Enkelejda Kasneci, Perception Engineering Lab, University of Tübingen.
• Benedikt Hosp, Perception Engineering Lab, University of Tübingen.
Duration: July 2019 – July 2020