Author: Fernando Álvarez López
Programme: Doctoral Programme in Education and ICT (e-learning)
Language: Spanish
Supervisor: Dr Francesc Saigí Rubió and Dr Marcelo Fabián Maina
Faculty / Institute: eLearn Center
Subjects: Higher Education, Universities
Key words: simulation, minimally invasive surgery, medical education, human-computer interfaces, computer-assisted surgery

Area of knowledge: e-Learning

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Summary
The compilation thesis has been organized in three phases, according to the research paradigm known as Design-Based Research. The first consists of systematically reviewing the literature to identify gesture-mediated devices and their use in surgery and particularly in simulation for learning psychomotor skills in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The second consisted of developing a working prototype of a simulator. In the third, the largest number of sources of validity was obtained for the simulator's tasks. The results enabled the state of the art in the use of gesture-mediated devices in surgery to be established, and in particular, Leap Motion Controller (LMC) to be identified as a low-cost option for use in the new simulator. A working prototype was then developed. Finally, validity evidence was obtained from multiple sources for the task metrics and scores, for the intra-rater reliability over time and internal consistency, as well as high-level evidence for the consequences of the test, and partial confirmation of the relationships with the other variables. In conclusion, the results of the tests to obtain evidence for the sources of validity supported the validity of the scores and metrics used to demonstrate the learning of basic psychomotor skills in MIS by means of a new, low-cost, portable simulator that uses computer technology involving human-machine interaction mediated by gestures.