Blink-Based Estimation of Suturing Task Workload and Expertise in Microsurgery

Eye-hand coordination is a central skill in microsurgery. To develop efficacious microsurgical training environments to support development of eye-hand coordination, it is important to understand the workload associated with visuo-motor tasks in microsurgery. We embedded an eye-tracker to a surgical microscope and collected eye-blink data of 10 participants during a microsuture training task. Blink-rate was shown to drop to low levels compared to a resting-state rate and be sensitive to the phases of microsurgical suture. We discuss these findings in the light of operator training in microsurgical environments.