Information sheet
UCL Research Ethics Committee Approval ID Number: 24249/005
Title of Study: A serious game to study the effect of limited field of view in keyhole surgery.
Department: UCL Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering
Researcher(s):Connor Creasey (rmaphcr@ucl.ac.uk), Stephen Thompson (s.thompson@ucl.ac.uk)
Principal Researcher: Matthew J. Clarkson (m.clarkson@ucl.ac.uk)
Invitation Paragraph
You are invited to take part in a research project. Before making a decision, you should understand the purpose of this study and what participation will involve. Please ensure you read the following information carefully, and discuss it with others if you wish. Please contact us if anything is unclear.
What is the project’s purpose?
This research project aims to design and deploy a serious web-based game to study the effects of limited field of view in endoscopic (keyhole) surgery. Surgeons use endoscopes to relay real-time images to a monitor, helping them navigate around the body, however the field of view is limited. There is currently little quantitative meaningful data on the topic, which we aim to address through a novel and engaging game.
3. Will the game depict anything I may find disturbing?
The game depicts invasive surgery, and may contain images of blood and cutting instruments. If you find this content upsetting, you may refuse participation in the study.
4. Why have I been chosen?
You have been invited to participate because you are:
Are able to communicate effectively in English
Able to give consent
Aged 18 or over
Capable of using a computer
We aim to recruit up to 100 participants for this study.
5. Do I have to take part?
Participation is entirely voluntary. If you choose to take part, you will receive a copy of this information sheet and be asked to tick a digital consent form. You may withdraw at any time without giving a reason. If you decide to withdraw, you will be asked what you wish to happen to the data you have provided up that point. All data will be anonymous, and therefore it will not be possible to remove your data if you do decide to withdraw at a later date.
6. What will happen to me if I take part?
You will be invited to play a web-based game. Before the game begins, you will be asked to answer some questions which will provide us with helpful information. These questions require no prior knowledge. The game consists of various levels for you to complete, and should take no longer than 10 minutes. You will then be asked to fill out a system usability scale (SUS) to measure the game’s usability, and a NASA task load index (NASA TLX), to measure your mental workload (MWL) from the tasks. Following these questionnaires, you will be asked to complete another short questionnaire to provide feedback about your experience. These post-game questionnaires are all optional.
7. Will I be recorded, and how will the recorded media be used?
You will not be recorded.
8. What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
There are no risks or possible disadvantages. In the unlikely event that participating causes any distress, you are free to withdraw and discuss your concerns with the researcher and Principal Investigator.
9. What if something goes wrong?
If you have any concerns with the conduct of this study, please raise them in the first instance with the Principal Researcher. If your concerns are not addressed to your satisfaction, then contact the Chair of the UCL Research Ethics Committee – ethics@ucl.ac.uk.
10. Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential?
All data collected during this course of this research will be kept confidential, subject to legal constraints and professional guidelines. You will not be identifiable in any ensuing reports or publications.
11. What will happen to the results of the research project?
Depending on the findings, we may publish the results in a journal or conference paper. To enable open science and reproducibility, we may share data derived from your trial on public data servers. All data derived from your trial (performance data, NASA TLX scores, system usability scores) will be anonymised from the point of collection.
Local Data Protection Privacy Notice
The controller for this project will be University College London (UCL). The UCL Data Protection Officer provides oversight of UCL activities involving the processing of personal data, and can be contacted by email:data-protection@ucl.ac.uk.
No identifying personal information will be retained. The gathered data will be anonymous.
Further information on how UCL uses participant information can be found at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/legal-services/privacy/ucl-general-research-participant-privacy-notice
The lawful basis that would be used to process your personal data will be performance of a task in the public interest.
12. Contact for further information
My contact details are at the top of the page. Please contact us with any questions or queries.
Thank you for reading this information sheet and for considering taking part in this study.