title: Differences in mental workload between traditional and single-incision laparoscopic procedures measured with a secondary task.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The mental workload associated with laparoscopic suturing can be assessed with a secondary task that requires the same visual-spatial attentional resources. The purpose of this study was to use a secondary task to measure the incremental workload demands of single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) procedures versus traditional laparoscopic procedures.
  
  
  METHODS
  12 surgery residents and surgical assistants who had met FLS criteria on an FLS and SILS simulator performed one trial each of peg transfer, cutting, and intracorporeal suturing tasks simultaneously with the secondary task and provided subjective workload ratings using the NASA-TLX.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SILS procedures resulted in lower primary and secondary task scores, p < 0.001 and higher workload ratings, p < 0.0001. Suturing resulted in lower primary (p < 0.003) and secondary task scores (p < 0.017) and higher workload ratings (p < 0.017) compared to the other tasks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SILS procedures were significantly more mentally demanding than traditional laparoscopic procedures corroborated by primary and secondary tasks scores and subjective ratings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA. Electronic address: mscerbo@odu.edu.
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Scerbo
authors.affiliation: Eastern Virginia Medical School, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Britt
authors.affiliation: Carolinas Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stefanidis
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods*; D000066908:Simulation Training; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D016526:Workload
keywords: Laparoscopy; Mental workload; Secondary task; Single incision surgery; Skill