Correlation Study and Predictive Modelling of Ergonomic Parameters in Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery.

BACKGROUND

This study aims to continue research on the objective analysis of ergonomic conditions in robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), seeking innovative solutions for the analysis and prevention of ergonomic problems in surgical practice.

METHODS

Four different robotic-assisted tasks were performed by groups of surgeons with different surgical experiences. Different wearable technologies were used to record surgeons' posture and muscle activity during surgical practice, for which the correlation between them was analyzed. A predictive model was generated for each task based on the surgeons' level of experience and type of surgery. Two preprocessing techniques (scaling and normalization) and two artificial intelligence techniques were tested.

RESULTS

Overall, a positive correlation between prolonged maintenance of an ergonomically inadequate posture during RAS and increased accumulated muscle activation was found. Novice surgeons showed improved posture when performing RAS compared to expert surgeons. The predictive model obtained high accuracy for cutting, peg transfer, and labyrinth tasks.

CONCLUSIONS

This study expands on the existing ergonomic analysis of the lead surgeon during RAS and develops predictive models for future prevention of ergonomic risk situations. Both posture and muscle loading are highly related to the surgeon's previous experience.