Quantitative Characterization of Components of Computer Assisted Interventions

Purpose. We propose a mathematical framework for quantitative analysis weighting the impact of heterogeneous components of a surgery. While multi-level appoaches, surgical process modeling and other workflow analysis methods exist, this is to our knowledge the first quantitative approach. Methods. Inspired by the group decision making problem from the field of operational research, we define event impact factors, which combine independent and very diverse low-level functions. This allows us to rate surgical events by their importance. Results. We conducted surveys with 4 surgeons to determine the importance of roles, phases and their combinations within a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Applying this data on a recorded surgery, we showed that it is possible to define a quantitative measure for deciding on acception or rejection of calls to different roles and at different phases of surgery. Conclusions. This methodology allows us to use components such as expertise and role of the surgical staff and other aspects of a given surgery in order to quantitatively analyze and evaluate events, actions, user interfaces or procedures.