Implementation of Metrics to Assess Surgical Microscope Maneuvering Skills During Myringotomy

Abstract

Teaching and learning to manoeuvre a surgical microscope is one of the first steps in middle ear surgical training. In the conventional training approach, no numerical methods are used to evaluate trainee performance. The objective of this paper is to present a set of discriminatory metrics that quantify the microscope‟s motion path during a middle ear surgery (myringotomy with ventilation tube insertion) and numerically evaluate the trainee‟s performance. To collect the motion data, an experimental myringotomy was conducted on a cadaveric human ear by experienced ear surgeons and by residents. During the operation, translational and angular coordinates of the microscope‟s motion were captured in real-time using an optical tracker. Analyzing their data based on motion time, path length, total rotation, jitter, efficiency, and smoothness metrics, noticeable differences were observed between residents and experts. These metrics will form the basis of an automated system for providing feedback to residents during training.