Dataset for "Augmented screwdrivers can increase the performance of orthopaedic surgeons compared with use of normal screwdrivers"

Data collection method:

Surgeons were instructed to wear non-sterile gloves before sequentially tightening non-locking, 3.5 mm self-tapping, cortical screws into the artificial bone sheets in a vertical orientation in two testing phases (Figure 2 in the associated paper). All screws had been pre-inserted through 10-hole limited contact dynamic compression plates (LC-DCP) (Synthes, Zuchwil, Switzerland), with the screws remaining 3 to 5 mm from the plate surface. Previous studies by Fletcher et al. have identified that no more than ten screw insertions are needed to characterise a surgeon’s technique. A torque measuring screwdriver (Premier STS103 [Jack Sealey LTD., Bury St. Edmunds, UK]) was used for all screw tightening. Participants were asked to insert each screw to what they determined to be the optimum tightness for that screw. The screwdriver displayed the applied torque via a digital reading which was recorded by researchers; participants were blinded to these values. At a separate episode, a researcher calculated the surgeon’s achieved tightness by creating a ratio between the torque chosen by the surgeon (stopping torque) and the maximum torque the screw hole could receive (stripping torque). If the stopping torque was found to have been greater than the stripping torque, the insertion was defined as having been stripped by the surgeon. Following each screw insertion, participants rated the achieve purchase from 1-10 (1 being very poor and 10 being optimal). They also reported whether they felt the screw hole had been stripped – yes or no. For Phase 2, 10 screws were tightened in exactly the same fashion except that the same screwdriver was set to beep and vibrate when a predetermined theoretical optimum torque value was achieved: 0.105 Nm. This value, defined as optimum tightness, was calculated to be 70% of the average stripping torque for 3.5 mm screws in 2.5 mm screw holes in the 4 mm thick artificial bone sheets, established as 0.15 Nm from pilot testing. The instructions for inserting screws in Phase 2 were to stop inserting when the optimum tightness was indicated by the screwdriver. Again, confidence (1-10) in the screw purchase and the surgeon’s assessment of whether the screw hole had been stripped were recorded.