Construct validity for eye-hand coordination skill on a virtual reality laparoscopic surgical simulator.
BACKGROUND
This study was carried out to investigate whether eye-hand coordination skill on a virtual reality laparoscopic surgical simulator (the LAP Mentor) was able to differentiate among subjects with different laparoscopic experience and thus confirm its construct validity.


METHODS
A total of 31 surgeons, who were all right-handed, were divided into the following two groups according to their experience as an operator in laparoscopic surgery: experienced surgeons (more than 50 laparoscopic procedures) and novice surgeons (fewer than 10 laparoscopic procedures). The subjects were tested using the eye-hand coordination task of the LAP Mentor, and performance was compared between the two groups. Assessment of the laparoscopic skills was based on parameters measured by the simulator.


RESULTS
The experienced surgeons completed the task significantly faster than the novice surgeons. The experienced surgeons also achieved a lower number of movements (NOM), better economy of movement (EOM) and faster average speed of the left instrument than the novice surgeons, whereas there were no significant differences between the two groups for the NOM, EOM and average speed of the right instrument.


CONCLUSIONS
Eye-hand coordination skill of the nondominant hand, but not the dominant hand, measured using the LAP Mentor was able to differentiate between subjects with different laparoscopic experience. This study also provides evidence of construct validity for eye-hand coordination skill on the LAP Mentor.
Yamaguchi
Shohei
S
Department of Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. shohei@surg2.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Konishi
Kozo
K
Yasunaga
Takefumi
T
Yoshida
Daisuke
D
Kinjo
Nao
N
Kobayashi
Kiichiro
K
Ieiri
Satoshi
S
Okazaki
Ken
K
Nakashima
Hideaki
H
Tanoue
Kazuo
K
Maehara
Yoshihiko
Y
Hashizume
Makoto
M
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003198:Computer Simulation; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D014584:User-Computer Interface