Relating Surgeon Proficiency Scores to Maturation of Visuomotor Skill during Training
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Microsurgery remains one of the most technically demanding skills to acquire, as it requires to master fine motor control under high-magnification visual feedback, while acquiring an accurate haptic model of tissue-needle interaction. Surgical training is traditionally assessed by the ALI score, a method easy to administer but that monitors solely the outcome of the surgery. We present a longitudinal evaluation of twenty-two medical students and clinical residents over a six-month period, and compare the evolution of the ALI score errors as a result of practice and training. If visuo-spatial and fine motor skills are only marginally improved over a small period of training and benefit primarily from years of practice, the ability to recognize haptic cues can be acquired after small amount of training. We show that a careful reading of the ALI score errors can be attributed to the acquisition of each of these cognitive processes.
Authors: HU, Luyin, Meling, Torstein R., Billard, Aude
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225100697