Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41366036›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Explainable machine learning using EMG and accelerometer sensor data quantifies surgical skill and identifies biomarkers of expertise.

Rahul Soangra, Areef Hossain, Jay Sonagra, Vennila Krishnan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Cross-Stream and Cross-Channel Attention Networks for Surgical Skill Classification in Open Surgery From Hand Kinematics.The international journal of medical robotics + computer assisted surgery : MRCAS · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Rahul SoangraCrean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, Orange, CA, 92866, USA. soangra@chapman.edu.
Areef HossainDepartment of Electrical Engineering, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA.
Jay SonagraDepartment of Computer Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA.
Vennila KrishnanDepartment of Physical Therapy, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Traditional evaluations of surgical skill rely heavily on subjective assessments, limiting precision and scalability in modern surgical education. With the emergence of robotic platforms and simulation-based training, there is a pressing need for objective, interpretable, and scalable tools to assess technical proficiency in surgery. This study introduces an explainable machine learning (XAI) framework using surface electromyography (sEMG) and accelerometer data to classify surgeon skill levels and uncover actionable neuromuscular biomarkers of expertise. Twenty-six participants, including novices, residents, and expert urologists, performed standardized robotic tasks (suturing, knot tying, and peg transfers) while sEMG and motion data were recorded from 12 upper-extremity muscle sites using Delsys

Indexed as

AccelerometryClinical CompetenceElectromyographyMachine LearningRobotic Surgical ProceduresAdultBiomarkersFemaleHumansMaleBiomarkers

Identifiers

PMID41366036
PMCPMC12789108

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.