SAGES 2026 Annual Meeting Emerging Technology Session

Visual Guidance and Interaction Design Communication Model for Surgical Skills Training in Robotic Surgical Simulation

Mark Brosche, ME; Tansel Halic, Ph.D.; Hong-En Chen, Ph.D.; Tricia Gibo, Ph.D.; Henry Lin, Ph.D.

Intuitive

Our objective is to develop standardized visual design and interaction framework for robotic surgery simulation in SimNow™ aiming at:

•Improving task clarity and reduce ambiguity in self-training

•Supporting efficient robotic skill acquisition

Methods

Our SimNow™ exercises were designed using our visual design communication framework with the following components (see Figure 1):

1.Visualization & Design: spatial references and instructional 2D/3D visuals

2.Action States & Task Affordance: instrument highlighting and motion cues

3.Feedback & Warnings: color changes, animations, and error indicators

Preliminary Results

A pilot evaluation was conducted using da Vinci Single Port (SP) simulation exercises with three expert robotic surgeons, each having performed several hundred to over a thousand multi-port robotic cases but no prior SP experience. Preliminary results indicate that the visual design framework is intuitive, consistent and achieves strong user satisfaction (see Figure 2). Surgeons consistently recognized the educational and training value of visual elements in robotic skill acquisition and task understanding.

Conclusion

Standardized visual cues and feedback mechanisms support task clarity, learner autonomy, and promote consistent skill acquisition. These findings underscore the importance of cohesive visual communication systems in simulation-based surgical education.

SAGES 2026 Annual Meeting Emerging Technology Session

Visual Guidance and Interaction Design Communication Model for Surgical Skills Training in Robotic Surgical Simulation

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