Eye-tracking Metrics Predicts Perceived Workload in Robotic Surgical Skills Training

<p>Robotic surgery offers potential benefits of smaller incisions and shortened recovery time. Yet the technical complexity may increase surgeons’ workload. This study aims to assess the capability of eye-tracking metrics for monitoring mental workload in simulated robotic surgery tasks. Eight surgical trainees participated in 15 robotic skills simulation sessions. In each session, participants performed up to 12 simulated exercises. Performance was assessed by the robotic system. Participants completed the NASA-TLX survey after every completion of an exercise. Throughout all exercises, a wearable eye tracker, Tobii Pro Glasses 2.0, was used to sample pupil diameter and gaze point at 50Hz. Four main metrics were derived from the eye-tracking signals: pupil diameter, gaze entropy, fixation duration and PERCLOS. Related publication: "<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0018720819874544?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed">Eye-Tracking Metrics Predict Perceived Workload in Robotic Surgical Skills Training</a>".</p>