Surgeon's vigilance in the operating room.

Objective: Surgeons' vigilance regarding patient condition was assessed using eye-tracking techniques during a simulated laparoscopic procedure.

Methods: Surgeons were required to perform a partial cholecystectomy in a virtual reality trainer (SurgicalSim; METI Inc, Sarasota, FL) while wearing a lightweight head-mounted eye-tracker (Locarna systems Inc, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada). Half of the patients were preprogrammed to present a mildly unstable cardiac condition during the procedure.