More accurately measuring the difficulty of an operation in advance with NASA technology

The NASA TLX is a multi-item questionnaire which is used in a
variety of fields. TLX stands for Task Load Index, and is a measure
of perceived workload. Image: MeasuringU

Surgery is not an exact science. No surgeon truly knows the complexity of an individual operation until after it is over, and this is difficult to accurately measure.

A group of Melbourne surgeons, led by Dr Stephen Bell, in Monash University’s Department of Surgery and also a surgeon at The Alfred, has adapted an index used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a way to measure an operation’s difficulty. 

The research found that the NASA TLX Index accurately measured the technical difficulty of an operation, and therefore may be useful to gauge a trainee’s proficiency over time, which currently relies on self reporting. It can also be used to assess changes in surgical techniques and new technologies.