7972 Enhancing Laparoscopic Education with Use of LaparAssist, a Hands-Free Device Designed to Direct Learners on a Laparoscopic Monitor

Abstract

<h3>Study Objective</h3> To determine if LaparAssist, a wireless foot-pedal activated glasses-mounted laser pointing device, is beneficial to medical trainees and performs non-inferiorly to standard pointing devices. <h3>Design</h3> A prospective observational study was performed on academic personnel, with a comparative follow-up study utilizing OB/GYN residents. Two tasks were designed: a maze task to determine pointing accuracy, and a point task measuring time of completion. <h3>Setting</h3> Participants stood 15˚ offset from perpendicular to a monitor that was 145 cm tall and 120 cm away while using the devices. Testing was performed in a prototyping lab and simulated operating room for academic personnel and residents, respectively. <h3>Patients or Participants</h3> Twenty-three academic personnel volunteered for the initial study. The follow-up comparative study utilized 10 resident volunteers. Participants took approximately 15 minutes to complete both tasks. Follow-up surveys were conducted. <h3>Interventions</h3> Participants were taken through a series of non-inferiority tests using LaparAssist, a laser pointer, and a computer mouse on a monitor. For the maze task, participants utilized each device to complete a simple maze. In the point task, participants pointed at randomly appearing dots. <h3>Measurements and Main Results</h3> For the maze task, participants were timed, and errors were recorded. Analysis demonstrated no significant difference in errors by the residents between LaparAssist and the laser pointer (p=0.05). For the point task, subjects were timed. Analysis demonstrated no significant difference in time by the residents between LaparAssist and a handheld laser or mouse. Overall, the residents performed the tasks faster than academic personnel. Survey results indicated no significant difference between devices in comfort and perceived performance for both academic personnel and residents. <h3>Conclusion</h3> LaparAssist allows laparoscopic surgeons to more clearly communicate with trainees without the use of occupied hands. Our data indicates LaparAssist can perform comparably to hand-controlled pointing devices.