Eye Movement Modeling Examples as a Teaching Tool

Eye Movement Modeling Examples as a Teaching Tool for Epidural Block

This study will evaluate whether eye-tracking assisted teaching (EMME, Eye Movement Modeling Examples) changes the visual patterns and improve the inexperienced trainee's performance in executing an epidural block on an epidural simulator.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: Simulation Training
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: EMME (Eye Movement Modeling Examples)

Detailed Description

Eye Movement Modeling Examples (EMME) is the youngest topic within the field of applied eye-tracking research in Educational Science. These are video recordings of a model executing a task and explaining how he goes about that. On top of that, the model's eye movements are tracked and replayed on top of the video.

It addresses the question, how visual expertise could be trained with the help of instructional videos of real-world tasks that are explained by experts in the field. These videos include an overlay of these experts' visual focuses to support the learner in connecting the verbal explanation of the expert to the real-world complexity of the task. The aim of this study will be to evaluate whether eye-tracking assisted teaching may improve the novice, inexperienced, trainee's performance in executing an epidural block on an epidural simulator and may change its visual patterns as assessed by eye-tracking glasses.

The study will enroll 14 novice trainees who will be randomized into two equal groups to receive (study group) or to don't receive (control group) a pre-recorded video (intervention) containing the instructions on where to focus their gaze while performing the epidural procedure.

All the trainees (study and control group) will be asked to perform the epidural procedure using a standardized epidural simulator while wearing eye-tracking glasses.

For this study, the investigators will use a commercially available Tobii Pro Glasses 50 Hz wearable wireless eye tracker. This system can measure eye movements using cameras integrated into the eyeglasses which record the corneal reflection of infrared lighting to track pupil position, mapping the subject's focus of attention on video recordings of the subject's field of vision (gaze).

All the eye-tracked epidural procedures will be recorded immediately after accurate individual calibration, during which the participant, after wearing the glasses unit, focused on the center of the calibration target.

All the eye-tracking video-recordings will be stored and analyzed by using Tobii Pro Lab Software. The investigators will select six areas of interest (AOI), to define regions of a displayed stimulus, and to extract metrics specifically for those regions. The areas were the following: 1) point of the epidural needle at its insertion into the skin; 2) shaft of the epidural needle; 3) hub of the needle; 4) barrel of the syringe; 5) plunger of the syringe; 6) other fields of view.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 15
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Roma, Italy, 00151
    • EESOA srl

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 25 years to 45 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• inexperienced trainees in anesthesia who have never performed an epidural block

Exclusion Criteria:

• trainees who have previously performed an epidural block

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Study Group; Trainees of this group will watch an EMME (Eye Movement Modeling Examples) pre-recorded video, on where to focus their gaze while performing the epidural procedure in accordance with expert eye-tracking	Other: EMME (Eye Movement Modeling Examples); Trainees of this group will watch an EMME (Eye Movement Modeling Examples)-recorded video, on where to focus their gaze while performing the epidural procedure in accordance with expert eye-tracking
No Intervention: Control Group; Trainees of this group will not watch the pre-recorded video

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Eye Fixations Numbers	Duration (seconds) of fixations for each area of interest and for each phase will be examined. Fixations are represented as discrete samples of almost stable points where the eye is looking. Their duration is the elapsed time between the start of the first fixation on the AOI until the end of the last fixation on the AOI. The duration of fixations for each area of interest and for each phase will be examined.	up to 10 minutes
Eye Fixation duration	The number of fixations for each area of interest and for each phase will be examined. Fixations are represented as discrete samples of almost stable points where the eye is looking. The number of fixations for each area of interest and for each phase will be examined.	up to 10 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Epidural attempt	An attempt will be defined as a complete withdrawal of the needle from the epidural simulator's skin and its reinsertion at the same or at a different interspace	up to 10 minutes
Duration of the epidural procedure	The total duration of the procedure will be defined as the length of time between the insertion of the epidural needle into the skin of the simulator and the completion of the loss of resistance technique (finding of the epidural space).	up to 30 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: European e-Learning School in Obstetric Anesthesia

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Anticipated): March 25, 2022
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): October 28, 2022
• Study Completion (Anticipated): October 28, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 24, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 26, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): March 1, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 23, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 22, 2022
• Last Verified: February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: EESOA10

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No