Assessment of laparoscopic surgical skill acquisition and retention.

Currently, a need exists for a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of laparoscopic surgical skill acquisition and decay; novel, objective metrics with which to assess these skills over time; and simulation-based training that supports rapid acquisition, longitudinal retention, and targeted retraining for sustainment of these critical and perishable skills. This pilot study examined traditional metrics of laparoscopic surgical skills training, as well as a novel motion tracking metric using an instrumented glove. Data were compared for PreTest, PostTest following training to specified proficiency levels, and ReTest following an 8-10 week retention period, as well as comparison to expert performance. Despite a small number of complete data sets (n=5 novice, n=1 expert), these preliminary results demonstrate a lack of sensitivity of the current manual skills assessment metrics and demonstrate initial technical feasibility for the development of novel objective metrics based on instrumented glove motion tracking data.