title: The effect of music on robot-assisted laparoscopic surgical performance.
abstract: Music is often played in the operating room to increase the surgeon's concentration and to mask noise. It could have a beneficial effect on surgical performance. Ten participants with limited experience with the da Vinci robotic surgical system were recruited to perform two surgical tasks: suture tying and mesh alignment when classical, jazz, hip-hop, and Jamaican music were presented. Kinematics of the instrument tips of the surgical robot and surface electromyography of the subjects were recorded. Results revealed that a significant music effect was found for both tasks with decreased time to task completion (P = .005) and total travel distance (P = .021) as well as reduced muscle activations ( P = .016) and increased median muscle frequency (P = .034). Subjects improved their performance significantly when they listened to either hip-hop or Jamaican music. In conclusion, music with high rhythmicity has a beneficial effect on robotic surgical performance. Musical environment may benefit surgical training and make acquisition of surgical skills more efficient.
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5110, USA. kcsiu@unmc.edu
authors.forename: Ka-Chun
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Siu
authors.forename: Irene H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Mukul
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oleynikov
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stergiou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004576:Electromyography; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D009146:Music; D012371:Robotics; D013526:Surgical Mesh; D013536:Suture Techniques; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult