Surgical motor skill differentiation via functional near infrared spectroscopy

This study proposes a method to objectively differentiate surgical motor skill by analyzing brain activation in the prefrontal cortex, supplementary motor area (SMA), and primary motor cortex (M1) using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while performing a bimanual surgical task. Results show that experts have a significant decrease (p<;0.05) in functional activation in the prefrontal cortex, SMA, and M1 compared to surgical novices for the physical trainer bimanual task. However, experts show a significant increase in functional activation in the prefrontal cortex and SMA compared to novices for the virtual trainer bimanual surgical task.