Force measurement platform for training and assessment of laparoscopic skills

Journal article (2010)
Department
Biomechanical Engineering (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2010 The Author(s); Springer
DOI: https://doi.org/doi:10.1007/s00464-010-1096-9
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

13-05-2010

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Source:

Surgical Endoscopy, 24 (12), 2010

Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department

Biomechanical Engineering

Abstract

Background - To improve endoscopic surgical skills, an increasing number of surgical residents practice on box or virtual-reality (VR) trainers. Current training is mainly focused on hand–eye coordination. Training methods that focus on applying the right amount of force are not yet available. Methods - The aim of this project is to develop a system to measure forces and torques during laparoscopic training tasks as well as the development of force parameters that assess tissue manipulation tasks. The force and torque measurement range of the developed force platform are 0–4 N and 1 Nm (torque), respectively. To show the potential of the developed force platform, a pilot study was conducted in which five surgeons experienced in intracorporeal suturing and five novices performed a suture task in a box trainer. Results - During the pilot study, the maximum and mean absolute nonzero force that the novice used were 4.7 N (SD 1.3 N) and 2.1 N (SD 0.6 N), respectively. With a maximum force of 2.6 N (SD 0.4 N) and mean nonzero force of 0.9 N (SD 0.3 N), the force exerted by the experts was significantly lower.

Files

Horeman_2010.pdf
(pdf | 0.452 Mb)