A scalable solution: effective AI implementation in laparoscopic simulation training assessments
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Date
2025
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Abstract
Purpose Simulation-based training offers considerable benefits in surgical education, especially in mastering minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy. However, its widespread adoption faces challenges, particularly in teaching scalability and consistent assessment of trainees’ performance. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising tool to address these issues, offering possible solutions for optimizing exercise evaluation in simulation programs. This study aims to validate the integration of the YOLO v4 artificial intelligence model into a laparoscopic simulation training program from a video-based feedback-oriented platform. Methods Focusing on object detection and time measurement, the evaluation included a dataset of 7673 videos, extracting 100 random video frames per exercise for object detection with precision, recall, and F1-score calculations based on AI expert tags for each frame, and using 80 videos per exercise for time analysis compared to established times by platform expert teachers. Results With a total of 1100 frames assessed, the YOLO v4 model consistently exhibited high precision with a mean precision of 0.94 and mean recall of 0.89 across object detection tasks, with F1-scores ranging from 0.81 to 0.97. Time measurement accuracy based on 880 assessed videos showed a correlation with mean Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.960 for mean absolute error (MAE) across exercises with the timings of platform expert evaluators. Conclusions The YOLO v4 model proves to be an effective tool for laparoscopic training assessments. The model's high precision and strong correlation with expert assessments demonstrate its usefulness in optimizing the evaluation process in simulated laparoscopic training exercises. This intervention leads the way in surgery education by effectively addressing the need for scalable and standardized assessment methods facilitating the transition towards automated evaluations.
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Keywords
Simulation training, Surgical education, Laparoscopy, Artificial intelligence, Object detection