Measurement of laparoscopic skills in microgravity anticipates the space surgeon.
BACKGROUND
There clearly must be a surgical capability to support the exploration of the solar system by humans. We hypothesized that microgravity would impair surgical task performance and sought to measure degree and criticality of task erosion.


METHODS
Twenty subjects performed basic laparoscopic exercises (grasping, cutting, clipping, and suturing) in an inanimate trainer on the ground and during the microgravity phase of a parabolic flight. Skill assessment involved time, accuracy, and force transfer.


RESULTS
A decrease in the total number of on-target task completions was observed in microgravity compared with the ground performance for all tasks. The ratio between the total number of attempts and the number of completions was higher in microgravity. The amount of force introduced into the system was not significantly higher in microgravity.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that although tasks are performed with much greater deliberation and work in microgravity, there is no barrier to accurate and effective laparoscopic surgery.
Panait
Lucian
L
Medical Informatics and Technology Application Consortium, Department of Surgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 980480, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
Broderick
Timothy
T
Rafiq
Azhar
A
Speich
John
J
Doarn
Charles R
CR
Merrell
Ronald C
RC
D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D002983:Clinical Competence; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D018474:Weightlessness Simulation