Training Residents
Along with Yousef Khalifa, associate professor of ophthalmology at the University’s Flaum Eye Institute, Jiebo Luo, associate professor of computer science, is working on an advanced machine vision program to help train residents who are learning to perform cataract surgery.
Luo has created a computerized analysis system—an automated teaching aide—that recognizes shapes and movements associated with surgical procedures. It then classifies what it sees and grades residents’ work as they practice on eyes from cadavers.
The system provides near real-time, objective feedback to residents, something instructors cannot always give due to the number of surgeries they themselves perform each day. In the future, this technology could help assess the progress of residents, monitor surgical competence, and help surgeons learn new techniques.