Differences in the Exposure of the Lumbar Nerve Root Between Experts and Novices: Results From a Realistic Simulation Pilot Study With Force Sensors.

Study Design: Nonrandomized prospective trial.

Objective: Several studies could demonstrate "learning curves" in almost every single surgical procedure for unexperienced surgeons. This is in sharp contrast to the rising quality requirements in public health care to provide surgical training at patients "expense.

Approaches towards training in human risk management of surgical technology.

A safe application of modern surgical technology and computer-assisted surgery devices is based on an operation by adequately trained surgeons who are familiar with the benefits and limitations of the devices. We analyzed the in-depth interviews with seven Spanish and 10 German surgeons. Together with other studies, this analysis highlights the need for specific training in technological competence for surgeons.

An anthropomorphic sonography phantom for the evaluation of mechatronic devices for heart surgery.

Surgical assistance systems are used to make surgical procedures more precise. The integration of automated intra-operative imaging in surgical interventions can be seen as an important step to further improve patient safety. An automatic soft tissue manipulation system with mechatronic assistance using endoscopic Doppler guidance was developed for minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery.

Solving challenges in inter- and trans-disciplinary working teams: Lessons from the surgical technology field.

Introduction: Engineering a medical technology is a complex process, therefore it is important to include experts from different scientific fields. This is particularly true for the development of surgical technology, where the relevant scientific fields are surgery (medicine) and engineering (electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, etc.).

Ontology for assessment studies of human-computer-interaction in surgery.

Objective: New technologies improve modern medicine, but may result in unwanted consequences. Some occur due to inadequate human-computer-interactions (HCI). To assess these consequences, an investigation model was developed to facilitate the planning, implementation and documentation of studies for HCI in surgery.