Perceptual Difficulties with Laparoscopic Surgery

 

Institution

ODU SURF Lab

DATES

Aug 2009 - Dec 2013

Description

In a series of studies, we examined perceptual difficulties involved with laparoscopic surgery using a secondary task.

 

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We created and refined the ball and tunnel secondary task for measuring cognitive workload.

We created and refined the ball and tunnel secondary task for measuring cognitive workload.

Laparoscopic surgery (also called minimally-invasive surgery) is perceptually challenging because surgeons perform surgery through small incisions and view the operating site on a 2D monitor that is physically separate form the operating space.

My Master's thesis compared 2D and 3D laparoscopic movements, to support the theory that the lack of depth perception contributes to surgical difficulty.

We also evaluated the effectiveness of long-term practice with simulated laparoscopic tasks.