Modeling Surgical Skill Learning with Cognitive Simulation

We used a cognitive architecture (ACT-R) to explore the procedural learning of surgical tasks and then to understand the process of perceptual motor learning and skill decay in surgical skill performance. The ACT-R cognitive model simulates declarative memory processes during motor learning. In this ongoing study, four surgical tasks (bimanual carrying, peg transfer, needle passing, and suture tying) were performed using the da Vinci© surgical system. Preliminary results revealed that an ACT-R model produced similar learning effects. Cognitive simulation can be used to demonstrate and optimize the perceptual motor learning and skill decay in surgical skill training.