Study of Augmented Reality Eye Gaze Guidance to Improve Skill in Endoscopic Kidney Stone Surgery

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating an augmented reality AR tool designed to improve skill acquisition for endoscopic kidney stone surgery. The study addresses the high rate of repeat surgeries caused by residual stone fragments, which are linked to limited visualization skills, especially among novice surgeons. By enhancing surgical training through better visualization techniques, the trial aims to improve outcomes and reduce complications in kidney stone treatment. The study involves surgical trainees and expert surgeons who will use Microsoft HoloLens 2 devices to track and share eye gaze data during the kidney exploration phase of endoscopic stone surgery. Participants are randomized into two groups one with AR gaze guidance projecting the experts gaze to trainees, and a control group receiving only standard verbal feedback without AR. Each trainee will perform stone localization on multiple patients, with AR guidance active only during the exploration phase, after which the surgery proceeds as usual. Participants will be assessed on their ability to visualize the entire intrarenal collecting system during surgery, with eye gaze metrics collected and analyzed postoperatively. The study measures skill acquisition by comparing the completeness of kidney exploration and gaze patterns between groups. All surgeries use standard equipment, and patient care continues according to current practices. Data collection does not affect operative time or patient treatment, and the study aims to analyze around 100 datasets from surgeries involving trainees and experts.

Evaluation of Eye Gaze Sharing in the Operating Room