arXiv subjects

Rolando F. Del Maestro

Publications and source records attributed to Rolando F. Del Maestro.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Novel Ex-vivo Calf Brain Model with Integrated Sub-Skull Force Sensors to Access Simulated Neurosurgical Procedures

Surgical tissue manipulation demands precision; however, tool-tissue manipulation force magnitudes under realistic conditions are rarely quantified. To address this gap, we proposed and validated a portable ex-vivo force-sensing platform that measures tool-tissue interaction forces across the skull-brain interface during simulated neurosurgery. The system involves fresh calf brain tissue, used as a biological surrogate for brain parenchyma, placed in a 3D-printed human skull model equipped with a 6 degree-of-freedom force/torque sensor and a real-time data acquisition system. Five validation protocols assessed the accuracy and dynamic fidelity of the platform against ground-truth measurement, static accuracy and linearity using calibrated weights (0.5-50 g), minimum detectable force, spatial consistency across different anatomical regions, effect of surgical draping, and long-duration stability. Across protocols, measured forces showed excellent agreement with reference loads (correlation R = 0.9997), with RMSE < 0.005 N and mean relative error under 2%. The platform reliably detected low-magnitude forces down to 1 g (9.8 mN), while surgical drapes introduced no meaningful signal distortion and prolonged recordings exhibited minimal drift. Overall, the proposed framework provides objective, high-fidelity force quantification for skill training and performance assessment using fresh calf brain tissue and may serve as a foundation for force-based evaluation across other surgical procedures. Future work will integrate clinically used surgical instruments to increase procedural realism and will progress toward clinical trials to evaluate usability, educational impact, and translational relevance in practice-adjacent settings.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2025

A High-Fidelity Neurosurgical Training Platform for Bimanual Procedures: A Feasibility Study

Background. Bimanual psychomotor proficiency is fundamental to neurosurgical procedures, yet it remains difficult for trainees to acquire and for educators to objectively evaluate performance. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of a neurosurgical simulation platform that integrates an anatomically realistic brain model with surgical instrument tracking to support training and objective assessment of bimanual tasks in the context of subpial corticectomy. Methods. We developed and evaluated a neurosurgical simulation platform based on an ex-vivo calf brain model and a multi-camera tracking system capable of simultaneously capturing the motion of surgical instruments in both hands, including collection of real-time instrument trajectories and synchronized video recordings. These enabled extraction of motion-based, time-based, and bimanual coordination metrics. We conducted a case series involving 47 participants across four training levels: medical students, junior residents, senior residents, and neurosurgeons. Results. The tracking system successfully captured instrument motion during 81% of the periods when instruments were actively used throughout the simulation procedure. Several extracted metrics were able to significantly differentiate between levels of surgical expertise. In particular, instrument usage duration and custom-defined bimanual coordination metrics such as instrument tip separation distance and simultaneous usage time, show potential as features to identify participant expertise levels with different instruments. Conclusions. We demonstrated the feasibility of tracking surgical instruments during complex bimanual tasks in an ex-vivo brain simulation platform. The metrics developed provide a foundation for objective performance assessment and highlight the potential of motion analysis to improve neurosurgical training and evaluation.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2018

Machine Learning Distinguishes Neurosurgical Skill Levels in a Virtual Reality Tumor Resection Task

Background: Virtual reality simulators and machine learning have the potential to augment understanding, assessment and training of psychomotor performance in neurosurgery residents. Objective: This study outlines the first application of machine learning to distinguish "skilled" and "novice" psychomotor performance during a virtual reality neurosurgical task. Methods: Twenty-three neurosurgeons and senior neurosurgery residents comprising the "skilled" group and 92 junior neurosurgery residents and medical students the "novice" group. The task involved removing a series of virtual brain tumors without causing injury to surrounding tissue. Over 100 features were extracted and 68 selected using t-test analysis. These features were provided to 4 classifiers: K-Nearest Neighbors, Parzen Window, Support Vector Machine, and Fuzzy K-Nearest Neighbors. Equal Error Rate was used to assess classifier performance. Results: Ratios of train set size to test set size from 10% to 90% and 5 to 30 features, chosen by the forward feature selection algorithm, were employed. A working point of 50% train to test set size ratio and 15 features resulted in an equal error rates as low as 8.3% using the Fuzzy K-Nearest Neighbors classifier. Conclusion: Machine learning may be one component helping realign the traditional apprenticeship educational paradigm to a more objective model based on proven performance standards. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, Classifiers, Machine learning, Neurosurgery skill assessment, Surgical education, Tumor resection, Virtual reality simulation

cs.LG↗