A model to characterise re-orientation strategies in natural orificetranslumenal endoscopic surgery

摘要

Navigating using an endoscope in intra- or extra-lumenalsurgical procedures can be difficult. One of the main rea-sons why this is difficult is operator disorientation. Oper-ator disorientation can result from a number of factorsincluding a lack of navigational cues, cognitive overloadand restricted field of view of the endoscope. These resultin decreased operator awareness of surroundings and theendoscope location in space. It is important to try to pre-vent operator disorientation in endoscopic procedures;however, it is equally important to efficiently and correctlyre-orientate when disorientated to ensure safe surgery. It islikely that as endoscopic procedures are carried out extra-lumenally in greater spatial environments than the gastro-intestinal tract, such as in natural orifice translumenalendoscopic surgery (NOTES), disorientation will becomemore of a problem, placing greater emphasis on the abili-ties of the operator to re-orientate efficiently.