No abstract

The present study examined whether a spatial secondary task could distinguish among different levels of laparoscopic skill. Novices and surgeons with different levels of laparoscopic experience were asked to perform a peg transfer task on a laparoscopic simulator along with the secondary task. The results showed that novices performed more poorly than the surgeons on both the primary peg task and the secondary task. This pattern of results suggests that the primary task was more difficult for the novices leaving fewer attentional resources for the secondary task. Moreover, the results show that the spatial secondary task used in this study is sensitive to differences in mental resources required by individuals with different levels of laparoscopic surgical skill.

When participants who reached proficiency in suturing and knot tying were reassessed after either 1or 5 months without practice, their performance times increased by 35% and secondary task scores decreased by 30%. These deficits, however, were nearly reversed after a single refresher session.

Laparoscopic surgery requires surgeons to make judgments about three-dimensional movements using a two-dimensional display. This arrangement reduces the available visual feedback information, such as certain depth cues. The current study used Fitts’ (1954) law to examine the relationship between psychomotor movement time, target size and target distance for a psychomotor pointing task using a laparoscopic instrument in three-dimensional space projected on a two-dimensional display from different vantage points. Analyses demonstrate an effect for depth of target on accuracy, internal consistency and movement time. The results demonstrate that Fitts’ law can be utilized to detect differences in conditions when a three-dimensional task must be completed with the visual feedback presented on a two-dimensional display. No reliable results of vantage point were found. Thus, the location of a two-dimensional display may not be critical for the type of laparoscopic pointing tasks examined in the present study.