Abstract
Colonoscopy procedures are commonly performed to diagnose and prevent colorectal cancer. These procedures require highly trained practitioners to perform complex maneuvers with an endoscope. Extensive training is necessary to become proficient. To improve assessment during endoscope training the novel endoscopic control assessment system (ECAS) is proposed. This device uses a magnetic tracker to track the end of the endoscope in manikin training. In addition, camera imaging is used to track the angle of the control knobs during the training. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the magnetic tracker could sense the full range of motion of the endoscope. Experiment 2 showed that the control knob angle could be accurately tracked through 4 positions to within 0.6° accuracy. The feasibility of the ECAS system was shown and in the future, this can be employed as an effective means of assessing endoscopic training performance.
