Automated Psychomotor Skill Assessment for Use in Ultrasound Competency Testing

Acquisition of robust psychomotor skills is a critical element of achieving ultrasound competency. A validated and scalable method for assessing psychomotor skills is a prerequisite for widespread implementation of ultrasound training and integration into clinical practice. In this study, a method for evaluating visuospatial and visuomotor (psychomotor) skills related to ultrasound proficiency was developed and used to collect data from 59 participants. Participants varied from novices with no prior ultrasound experience or training to sonographers with 20+ years of ultrasound experience. Successful completion of the tasks did not require prerequisite medical knowledge. Task performance on a series of exercises assessing visuospatial and visuomotor skills was analyzed in relation to participant age, experience, and specialty. There was a high level of correlation across the different tools used for psychomotor skill assessment, establishing the internal validity of this novel automated assessment method. Correlation analysis shows evidence of intrinsic visuospatial and visuomotor skills and inverse correlations to age but not to prior experience using general diagnostic ultrasound applications.

SonoSim Keywords: Ultrasound Hand-Motion Analysis, Ultrasound Training, Ultrasound Assessment, Psychomotor Skills, Ultrasound Education