Validation of Knowledge Acquisition for Surgical Process Models

Objective: Surgical Process Models (SPMs) are models of surgical interventions. The objectives of this study are to validate acquisition methods for Surgical Process Models and to assess the performance of different observer populations. Design: The study examined 180 SPM of simulated Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgeries (FESS), recorded with observation software. About 150,000 single measurements in total were analyzed. Measurements: Validation metrics were used for assessing the granularity, content accuracy, and temporal accuracy of structures of SPMs. Results: Differences between live observations and video observations are not statistically significant. Observations performed by subjects with medical backgrounds gave better results than observations performed by subjects with technical backgrounds. Granularity was reconstructed correctly by 90%, content by 91%, and the mean temporal accuracy was 1.8 s. Conclusion: The study shows the validity of video as well as live observations for modeling Surgical Process Models. For routine use, the authors recommend live observations due to their flexibility and effectiveness. If high precision is needed or the SPM parameters are altered during the study, video observations are the preferable approach.