ACCEL-O-SURG

Project Dates: From November 2010 to July 2011

Project Leader: Prof. Patrick Olivier

Staff: Prof. Andrew McCaskie (CI) – Institute of Cellular Medicine, Dr. Nils Hammerla, Dr. Thomas Ploetz, Roisin McNaney, Sandeep Deshmukh -Institute of Cellular Medicine.

Sponsors: EPSRC

 

In this study we aim to understand the changes in motor skill that take place during the early phases of learning a new fine motor skill task. The motor skill we will be measuring is suturing. We will attach sensors to the surgical suturing instruments the participants will be using in order to track and record movements of instruments while participants practice suturing. The participants will be trained in correct technique by use of a video demonstrating the task, as well as an information sheet describing the steps. They will then be asked to perform the suturing task. We will also capture hand movements during the tasks with a video recording device.

For this study, a novice group of participants will be used who are expected to have no prior training in suturing in order to allow us to record motor skill acquisition with practice of a novel task. An 'experienced' group of participants will also be used which will be composed of medical students who have been shown the technique before.

Suturing will be carried out with proper surgical instruments and suture material, on artificial suture pads that are frequently used for training purposes