A multivariate method for analysing time and space components of highly disparate movement trajectories

摘要

The difficulties in performing manual control tasks under visual-motor mismatch are well documented. For example, laparoscopic surgeons must operate in an environment where a motor movement and the visual feedback of that same movement are ordinarily misaligned with respect to each other, increasing the risk of control errors. To complement conventional global measures of motor performance, which provide insight into spatial and/or temporal performance averaged over several trials, a bivariate dynamic measure encompassing joint time and space components is proposed. These two components are the instantaneous velocity and movement efficiency, derived from recorded movement trajectories. The dynamic measure consists of a graphical representation of the bivariate data, in conjunction with a non-parametric statistical analysis. An example is given of the dynamic measure applied to movement trajectories from an investigation involving simulated laparoscopic pointing under visual-motor mismatch. Results from both global and dynamic measures are discussed, along with limitations of the multivariate dynamic measure.