Eye Tracking as a Measure of Expertise in Surgical Simulation

• In Event: Learner Analytics and Design Thinking: Using Technology to Assess and Support Learners

Abstract

A wide variety of research pertaining to eye movement behaviors have revealed the effectiveness of using eye tracking as a research tool to investigate underlying cognitive processes. This research utilizes eye tracking to identify expertise in the context of a surgical simulation. Eye movements data were collected from 14 participants (8 experts and 6 novices) for an authentic surgical training task. Findings from the study revealed that experts and novices had significant differences in fixation and saccade durations in three different phases of the surgical simulation, which required different skill levels, but no significant differences in blink durations. Implications are drawn from expert/novice differences based on eye-tracking data that could be used for identification of surgical expertise and educational purposes.

Authors

• Shan Li, McGill University

• Melissa Duffy, University of South Carolina

• Susanne P. Lajoie, McGill University

• Kevin Lachapelle, McGill University