Background: This study examined perceptual-motor coordination with an appar
atus that simulated a situation representative of endoscopic surgery.
Methods: Participants were trained with one arrangement of the apparatus, t
hen tested with an alternative arrangement in which either the positions of
the camera, the surgeon, or the objects in the surgical field were altered
.
Results: Results showed that changes of either the camera's position or the
surgeon's position disrupted performance. However, when the camera and sur
geon positions were changed together, skilled performance was maintained.
Conclusions: This suggests that skill depends on a consistent mapping betwe
en the virtual hands and eyes, but not on the particular visual or motor or
ientations. The results suggest that movements of the camera during surgery
can disrupt coordinated action. Also, in the design of training simulators
, the mapping between camera and instruments may be more important than the
static appearance of the displays or the topology of the movements.