Surgical tele-mentoring using a robotic platform: initial experience in a military institution

BACKGROUND

Surgical tele-mentoring leverages technology by projecting surgical expertise to improve access to care and patient outcomes. We postulate that tele-mentoring will improve surgeon satisfaction, procedural competence, the timeliness of operative intervention, surgical procedure efficiency, and key intra-operative decision-making. As a first step, we performed a pilot study utilizing a proof-of-concept tele-mentoring process during robotic-assisted surgery to determine the effects on the perceptions of all members of the surgical team.

METHODS

An IRB-approved prospective feasibility study to determine the safety and efficacy of remote surgical consultation to local surgeons utilizing robotic surgery technology in the fields of general, urology, gynecology and thoracic surgery was performed. Surgical teams were provided a pre-operative face-to-face orientation. During the operation, the mentoring surgeon was located at the same institution in a separate tele-mentoring room. An evaluation was completed pre- and post-operatively by the operative team members and mentor.

RESULTS

Fifteen operative cases were enrolled including seven general surgery, four urology, one gynecology and three thoracic surgery operations. Surveys were collected from 67 paired survey respondents and 15 non-paired mentor respondents. Participation in the operation had a positive effect on participant responses regarding all questions surveyed (p < 0.05) indicating value to tele-mentoring integration. Connectivity remained uninterrupted with clear delivery of audio and visual components and no perceived latency. Participant perception of leadership/administrative support was varied.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical tele-mentoring is safe and efficacious in providing remote surgical consultation to local surgeons utilizing robotic surgery technology in a military institution. Operative teams overwhelmingly perceived this capability as beneficial with reliable audio-visual connectivity demonstrated between the main operative room and the Virtual Medical Center. Further study is needed to develop surgical tele-mentoring to improve patient care without geographic limitations during times of peace, war and pandemic outbreaks.

Remote Training of Neurointerventions by Audiovisual Streaming : Experiences from the European ESMINT-EYMINT E-Fellowship Program

BACKGROUND

Remote access of trainees to training centers via video streaming (tele-observership, e‑fellowship) emerges as an alternative to acquire knowledge in endovascular interventions. Situational awareness is a summary term that is also used in surgical procedures for perceiving and understanding the situation and projecting what will happen next. A high situational awareness would serve as prerequisite for meaningful learning success during tele-observerships. We hypothesized that live perception of the angiographical procedures using streaming technology is feasible and sufficient to gain useful situational awareness of the procedure.

METHODS

During a European tele-observership organized by the European Society of Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT) and its trainee association (EYMINT), a total of six neurointerventional fellows in five countries observed live cases performed by experienced neurointerventionalists (mentors) in six different high-volume neurovascular centers across Europe equipped with live-streaming technology (Tegus Medical, Hamburg, Germany). Cases were prospectively evaluated during a 12-month period, followed by a final questionnaire after completion of the course.

RESULTS

A total of 102/161 (63%) cases with a 1:1 allocation of fellow and mentor were evaluated during a 12-month period. Most frequent conditions were ischemic stroke (27.5%), followed by embolization of unruptured aneurysms (25.5%) and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) (15.7%). A high level of situational awareness was reported by fellows in 75.5% of all cases. After finishing the program, the general improvement of neurointerventional knowledge was evaluated to be extensive (1/6 fellows), substantial (3/6), and moderate (2/6). The specific fields of improvement were procedural knowledge (6/6 fellows), technical knowledge (3/6) and complication management (2/6).

CONCLUSION

Online streaming technology facilitates location-independent training of complex neurointerventional procedures through high levels of situational awareness and can therefore supplement live hands-on-training. In addition, it leads to a training effect for fellows with a perceived improvement of their neurointerventional knowledge.

Use of virtual platform for delivery of simulation-based laparoscopic training curriculum in LMICs

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic surgery is rapidly expanding in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet many surgeons in LMICs have limited formal training in laparoscopy. In 2017, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) implemented Global Laparoscopic Advancement Program (GLAP), an in-person simulation-based laparoscopic training curriculum for surgeons in LMICs. In light of COVID-19, SAGES adapted GLAP to a virtual format with telesimulation. This study explores the feasibility and efficacy of virtual laparoscopic simulation training in resource-limited settings.

METHODS

Participants from San Jose, Costa Rica, Leon, México, and Guadalajara, México enrolled in the virtual GLAP curriculum, meeting biweekly for 2-h didactic classes and 2-h hands-on live simulation practice. Surgical residents' laparoscopic skills were evaluated using the five Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) tasks during the initial and final weeks of the program. Participants also completed pre-and post-program surveys assessing their perception of simulation-based training.

RESULTS

The study cohort consisted of 16 surgical attendings and 20 general surgery residents. A minimum 70% response rate was recorded across all surveys in the study. By the end of GLAP, residents completed all five tasks of the FLS exam within less time relative to their performance at the beginning of the training program (p < 0.05). Respondents (100%) reported that the program was a good use of their time and that education via telesimulation was easily reproduced. Participants indicated that the practice sessions, guidance, and feedback offered by mentors were their favorite elements of the training.

CONCLUSION

A virtual simulation-based curriculum can be an effective strategy for laparoscopic skills training. Participants demonstrated an improvement in laparoscopic skills, and they appreciated the mentorship and opportunity to practice laparoscopic skills. Future programs can expand on using a virtual platform as a low-cost, effective strategy for providing laparoscopic skills training to surgeons in LMICs.

Learning Process Effectiveness During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Teleproctoring Advanced Endoscopic Skills by Training Endoscopists in Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty Procedure

Background and Aims

The COVID‐19 pandemic has led health institutions to cancel many of the activities including training in different fields. Most practices and training programs have been encouraged to use teleproctoring as an alternative method to enhance physician’s ability and assure training. We aimed to evaluate remote training program for endoscopy sleeve gastroplasty (ESG).

Methods

Ten consecutive patients underwent an endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty procedure guided by a proctor expert using an online platform. A stepwise approach was created to assure skill acquisition.

Results

All cases were safely performed with no serious adverse events under teleproctoring. The average surgical and suturing times significantly decreased during the training model. From the first 5 cases to the last 5 ones, the endoscopic procedure time decreased from 120 to 93.4 min while suturing time from 92.8 to 68.4 min. The effect size was large in both cases, and the changes were meaningful according to the fitted learning curves.

Conclusions

The proposed teleproctoring program was effective to deliver advanced endoscopic skills such as endosuturing for ESG, despite the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Graphical abstract

[Remote proctoring in neuroradiological interventions]

Hintergrund

Endovaskuläre Verfahren haben einen festen Platz bei der Behandlung von Hirngefäßerkrankungen, z. B. die Thrombektomie beim Schlaganfall. Die ständige Weiterentwicklung der hierbei verwendeten Materialien (z. B. Katheter und Stents) fordert von den behandelnden Ärzten ein permanentes Lernen.

Fragestellung

Technische Hilfsmöglichkeiten zur Unterstützung bei neuen neuroendovaskulären Verfahren.

Material und Methode

Integration von Streamingtechnologien in das Ausbildungskonzept von Neuroradiologen.

Ergebnisse

Die Übertragung angiographischer Aufnahmen auf einen entfernten Computerarbeitsplatz in Echtzeit ist mittels spezifischer Streamingtechnologie ortsunabhängig möglich. Hierdurch kann ein neuroendovaskulärer Spezialist geographisch entfernte Interventionalisten bei der Durchführung eines Kathetereingriffes am Gehirn beraten, die Handhabung der verwendeten Materialien überblicken und bei Bedarf anleiten (Remote-Proctoring).

Schlussfolgerungen

Insbesondere bei Notfalleingriffen und während Reisebeschränkungen kann durch Zuschaltung eines weiteren neuroendovaskulären Spezialisten per Livestreaming die Patientensicherheit erhöht werden.