Hemel Modi

Imperial College London | Imperial · Department of Surgery and Cancer

Introduction Inadequate exposure to real-life operating can impede timely acquisition of technical competence among surgical residents, and is a major challenge faced in the current training climate. Mental rehearsal (MR)—the cognitive rehearsal of a motor task without overt physical movement—has been shown to accelerate surgical skills learning. H...

Objective: To assess the impact of multitasking and time pressure on surgeons' brain function during laparoscopic suturing. Summary background data: Recent neuroimaging evidence suggests that deterioration in surgical performance under time pressure is associated with deactivation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), an area important for executive f...

Acquisition of bimanual motor skills, critical in several applications ranging from robotic teleoperations to surgery, is associated with a protracted learning curve. Brain connectivity based on functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) data has shown promising results in distinguishing experts from novice surgeons. However, it is less well und...

Importance Intraoperative stressors may compound cognitive load, prompting performance decline and threatening patient safety. However, not all surgeons cope equally well with stress, and the disparity between performance stability and decline under high cognitive demand may be characterized by differences in activation within brain areas associate...

he use of neuroimaging to investigate surgeons’ cognition is rapidly expanding and has deepened our understanding of technical skill acquisition, decision-making processes and the effects of fatigue. However, there is little evidence regarding the impact of intraoperative mental demands on operator brain function. Surgery is a complex endeavour req...

Robotic surgery may improve technical performance and reduce mental demands compared to laparoscopic surgery. However, no studies have directly compared the impact of robotic and laparoscopic techniques on surgeons’ brain function. This study aimed to assess the effect of the operative platform (robotic surgery or conventional laparoscopy) on prefr...

Background: Functional neuroimaging technologies enable assessment of operator brain function and can deepen our understanding of skills learning, ergonomic optima, and cognitive processes in surgeons. Although there has been a critical mass of data detailing surgeons' brain function, this literature has not been reviewed systematically. Methods:...

Background: Functional neuroimaging has the potential to deepen our understanding of technical and nontechnical skill acquisition in surgeons, particularly as established assessment tools leave unanswered questions about inter-operator differences in ability that seem independent of experience. Methods: In this first of a 2-part article, we aim...

Objective: To investigate the impact of time pressure (TP) on prefrontal activation and technical performance in surgical residents during a laparoscopic suturing task. Background: Neural mechanisms enabling surgeons to maintain performance and cope with operative stressors are unclear. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is implicated due to its role i...

Groin ultrasound scan (USS) is used to aid the diagnosis of inguinal hernias. Our radiology department offers access to image symptomatic patients for general practitioners (GPs) as well as surgeons. We examined the utilisation of groin USS in primary and secondary healthcare settings, and investigated its influence on proceeding to surgery. A retr...

A 75-year-old woman presented with a presumed urothelial carcinoma of the right renal pelvis. A radical nephroureterectomy was carried out and histological analysis of the specimen revealed lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma. This is the seventh reported case of this normally nasopharyngeal tumour found in the renal pelvis. These tumours have a disti...