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LEARNING THROUGH HAPTICS: HAPTIC FEEDBACK IN SURGICAL EDUCATION

  • Author / Creator
    Pinzon, David
  • Touch is one of the most important sensory inputs during the performance of surgery. However, the literature on kinesthetic and tactile feedback—both called haptic—in surgical training remain rudimentary. This rudimentary knowledge is partially due to the fact that haptic feedback is difficult to describe, as well as record and playback. To begin understanding the effect of decreased haptic feedback on task performance an incision performance experiment donning different number of gloves was designed under two separate environments. One of the environments had a simulated vessel underneath a simulated skin, while the other scenario did not have the vessel. Results demonstrated that reduced tactile feedback by the gloves did not affect performance, however, the presence of a vessel change the amount of force applied by the performer. Moreover, to gain insight into the effect of exclusive kinesthetic feedback, novices’ muscle memory was tested during performance of movement patterns of increasing complexity. Novices were able to remember and learn movements’ direction easier than the length. In a subsequent experiment, an innovative kinesthetic system (SensAble™ PHANTOM® Omni) recorded an expert surgeon's haptic features from both hands and delivered to a surgeon-in-training and compared to a group of novices using self-learning while learning a navigational laparoscopic task. Different metrics were utilized to assess task outcomes, motion, and force performance. Although, the difference between the means for all the three areas of both training methods was not statistically significant, a master-slave kinesthetic-guided platform was developed as an end product of this endeavor. Together, these studies exemplify the potential use of kinesthetic guidance as a complementary teaching paradigm in surgical education.

  • Subjects / Keywords
  • Graduation date
    Fall 2016
  • Type of Item
    Thesis
  • Degree
    Master of Science
  • DOI
    https://doi.org/10.7939/R3JH3DD0G
  • License
    This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.