Pre-clinical evaluation of the new veress needle+ mechanism on thiel-embalmed bodies: a controlled crossover study - Experimental research

Background: <br/>Veress needles (VN) are commonly used in establishing pneumoperitoneum in laparoscopic surgery. Previously, a VN with a new safety mechanism ‘VeressPLUS’ needle (VN+) was developed to reduce the amount of overshoot.<br/><br/>Methods: <br/>Eighteen participants (novices, intermediates, and experts) performed in total of 248...

Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills Based on Force and Motion Parameters

Box trainers equipped with sensors may help in acquiring objective information about a trainee's performance while performing training tasks with real instruments. The main aim of this study is to investigate the added value of force parameters with respect to commonly used motion and time parameters such as path length, motion volume, and task...

Patient safety risk factors in minimally invasive surgery: A validation study

This study was conducted to adapt and validate a patient safety (PS) framework for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) as a first step in understanding the clinical relevance of various PS risk factors in MIS. Eight patient safety risk factor domains were identified using frameworks from a systems approach to patient safety. A questionnaire was...

Assessment of joystick and wrist control in hand-held articulated laparoscopic prototypes

Various steerable instruments with flexible distal tip have been developed for laparoscopic surgery. The problem of steering such instruments, however, remains a challenge, because no study investigated which control method is the most suitable. This study was designed to examine whether thumb (joystick) or wrist control method is designated for...

Implications of the law on video recording in clinical practice

Background Technological developments allow for a variety of applications of video recording in health care, including endoscopic procedures. Although the value of video registration is recognized, medicolegal concerns regarding the privacy of patients and professionals are growing. A clear understanding of the legal framework is lacking....

Visual force feedback in laparoscopic training

Background - To improve endoscopic surgical skills, an increasing number of surgical residents practice on box or virtual reality (VR) trainers. Current training is focused mainly 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...

Force measurement platform for training and assessment of laparoscopic skills

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...

An Isolator System for minimally invasive surgery: The new design

Background - The risk of obtaining a postsurgical infection depends highly on the air quality surrounding the exposed tissue, surgical instruments, and materials. Many isolators for open surgery have been invented to create a contained sterile volume around the exposed tissue. With the use of an isolator, a surgical procedure can be performed...

Objective classification of residents based on their psychomotor laparoscopic skills

Background - From the clinical point of view, it is important to recognize residents’ level of expertise with regard to basic psychomotor skills. For that reason, surgeons and surgical organizations (e.g., Acreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, ACGME) are calling for assessment tools that credential residents as technically...

Force feedback and basic laparoscopic skills

Background - Not much is known about the exact role offorce feedback in laparoscopy. This study aimed to determine whether force feedback influences movements of instruments during training in laparoscopic tasks and whether force feedback is required for training in basic laparoscopic force application tasks. Methods - A group of 19 gynecologic...

Retracting and seeking movements during laparoscopic goal-oriented movements. Is the shortest path length optimal?

Aims- Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) requires a high degree of eye–hand coordination from the surgeon. To facilitate the learning process, objective assessment systems based on analysis of the instruments’ motion are being developed. To investigate the influence of performance on motion characteristics, we examined goaloriented movements in a...