Intelligent Performance Assessment System for Laparoscopic Surgical Box-Trainer

Laparoscopic surgeons should possess strong cognitive knowledge, case/problem management and manual dexterity skills. Such skills can be acquired through simulation using a basic, low-fidelity setup, such as the surgical box-trainer. The trainee's performance is evaluated on the grounds of both precision and speed. However, no significant qualitative and quantitative information is measured and recorded electronically. The main objective of this research is to develop an intelligent box-trainer device which includes sensors and several high definition digital video cameras along with a two-layer fuzzy logic-based assessment system. The significance of the project is to create an intelligent performance assessment system that is much more objective than the ones which are currently being used. Using fuzzy logic to capture expert knowledge is a new approach in this area.