Surgical Skill Assessment Using Motion Quality and Smoothness

Abstract

This article presents a quantitative technique to assess motion quality and smoothness during the performance of micromanipulation tasks common to surgical maneuvers. The objective is to investigate the effectiveness of the jerk index, a derivative of acceleration with respect to time, as a kinetostatic measure for assessment of surgical performance. A surgical forceps was instrumented with a position tracker and accelerometer that allowed measurement of position and acceleration relative to tool motion. Participants were asked to perform peg-in-hole tasks on a modified O'Connor Dexterity board and a Tweezer Dexterity pegboard (placed inside a skull). Normalized jerk index was calculated for each individual task to compare smoothness of each group. This study was conducted at Project neuroArm, Cumming School of Medicine, the University of Calgary. Four groups of participants (surgeons, surgery residents, engineers, and gamers) participated in the tests. Results showed that the surgeons exhibited better jerk index performance in all tasks. Moreover, the residents experienced motions closer to the surgeons compared to the engineers and gamers. One-way analysis of variance test indicated a significant difference between the mean values of normalized jerk indices among 4 groups during the performance of all tasks. Moreover, the mean value of the normalized jerk index significantly varied for each group from one task to another. Normalized jerk index as an independent parameter with respect to time and amplitude is an indicator of motion smoothness and can be used to assess hand motion dexterity of surgeons. Furthermore, the method provides a quantifiable metrics for trainee assessment and proficiency, particularly relevant as surgical training shifts toward a competency-based paradigm.