Ergonomic Assessment of the Mental Workload Confronted by Surgeons during Laparoscopic Surgery

Although the mental workload confronted by laparoscopic surgeons is rather high, there is presently no reliable, established method for evaluating this workload. In the present study, four evaluation indices of eye movement metrics were applied to evaluate surgeons’ mental workload. Correlations bet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American surgeon 2018-09, Vol.84 (9), p.1538-1543
Main Authors: Zhang, Jianyang, Liu, Shenglin, Feng, Qingmin, Gao, Jiaqi, Cheng, Ju, Jiang, Mingyin, Lan, Yihua, Zhang, Qiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aeronautics
Automobile driving
Correlation coefficients
Data processing
Evaluation
Eye movements
Information processing
Laparoscopy
Medical personnel
Physiology
Research methodology
Statistical analysis
Studies
Surgeons
Surgery
Working conditions
Workload
Workloads
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Summary:Although the mental workload confronted by laparoscopic surgeons is rather high, there is presently no reliable, established method for evaluating this workload. In the present study, four evaluation indices of eye movement metrics were applied to evaluate surgeons’ mental workload. Correlations between these indices and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) scores were also explored. Sixteen participants were recruited to complete four laparoscopic procedures. Eye movement was recorded during the tasks, and NASA-TLX scales were also introduced for subjective evaluation. The data were analyzed using R 3.3.2. Significant differences in the mental workload of each task were observed. Statistically significant correlations between mean pupil diameter change and NASA-TLX scores were also observed. The correlation coefficients were 0.763, 0.675, 0.405, and 0.547, and the P values correspondingly were 0.001, 0.004, 0.12, and 0.028, respectively. The results clarify that the mental workload of laparoscopic surgeons is dependent on the specific demands of the operation. Appropriate objective physiological indices can be used to identify the mental workload state of the surgeon.
ISSN:0003-1348
1555-9823
DOI:10.1177/000313481808400964