Application of an Optical Tracking System for Motor Skill Assessment in Laparoscopic Surgery

Objective. Motion analysis of surgical instruments can be used to evaluate laparoscopic surgical skills, and this study assessed the validity of an optical tracking system for the assessment of laparoscopic surgical motor skills. Methods. Ten experienced surgeons and ten novices were recruited to complete the transferring tasks on a laparoscopic simulator. An optical tracking system, Micron Tracker, was used to capture the marker points on each instrument and to obtain the coordinates of the marker points and the corresponding instrument tip coordinates. The data are processed to create a coordinate system based on the laparoscopic simulator and to calculate the movement parameters of the instruments, such as operating time, path length, speed, acceleration, and smoothness. At the same time, the range of motion of the instrument (insertion depth and pivoting angle) is also calculated. Results. The position that the tip of the instrument can reach is a small, irregularly shaped spatial area. Significant differences (p