The Economy of Motion for Laparoscopic Ball Clamping Surgery: A Feedback Educational Tool

Mohammad A Shbool; Ammar Al-Bazi; Alma Kokash; Wafa' H AlAlaween; Nibal T Albashabsheh; Raed Al-Taher

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2023.102168

The Economy of Motion for Laparoscopic Ball Clamping Surgery: A Feedback Educational Tool

MethodsX. 2023 Mar 31:10:102168. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2023.102168. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mohammad A Shbool¹, Ammar Al-Bazi², Alma Kokash¹, Wafa' H AlAlaween¹, Nibal T Albashabsheh¹, Raed Al-Taher³

Affiliations

¹ Industrial Engineering Department, School of Engineering, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan.
² Aston Business School, Aston University, Birmingham, Northern Ireland B4 7ER, UK.
³ Department of General Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan.

Abstract

The Ball Clamping module of the Laparoscopic Surgery Training Box involves the transfer of beads across the training board using laparoscopic tools. Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) requires practitioners to move their hands at as short a distance as possible to perform the functions in the shortest amount of time. This study introduces a feedback tool that presents to the student, after attempting their exam, the right direction (step by step) of obtaining the optimal pathway for minimizing distance traveled in the Ball Clamping Module of the Laparoscopic Surgery Training Box. The shortest distance tour for the ball clamping task is determined using the Traveling Salesman Model (TSM). A sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the model's applicability to different types and settings of trainer boxes.•Find the best sequence of points resulting in the shortest distance tour for the ball clamping task.•The effects of adding or removing columns from the box cannot be intuitively predicted.

Keywords: Ball clamping module; Educational Feedback Tool; Laparoscopic surgery; Traveling Salesman Model (TSM), Sensitivity analysis; Travelling salesman problem.