P74 NEURAL INTERFACES TO MONITOR INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGISTS’ MENTAL WORKLOAD: GAME–ON SAGA

• Published in: European heart journal supplements 2022-05, Vol.24 (Supplement_C)
• Main Authors: Scala, A, Campo, G, Erriquez, A, Tebaldi, M, Tumscitz, C, Penzo, C, Talevi, L, Biscaglia, S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1520-765X; 1554-2815
• DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/suac012.072

Interventional cardiologists’ mental workload may impact on their performance as well as on patients’ outcome. Nevertheless, little attention is paid to the monitoring and optimization of their mental status. Electroencephalogram (EEG)–based neural–interfaces can estimate mental fatigue and sleepiness through spectral analysis techniques and the amplitude of alpha waves is a widely validated indicator of mental engagement’s level. No data regarding neural interfaces are available for interventional disciplines. The present preliminary report is the first step of a project aimed at analysing and monitoring mental fatigue and sleepiness through variation of psychometrics and neurometrics in interventional cardiologists (NCT05041218). We prospectively recorded and analysed EEG signals from 7 interventional cardiologists in 129 consecutive procedures. Neurometrics have been acquired at the beginning of the shift, before and after each procedure performed during 127 valid Alpha Attenuation Protocols (AAP), a practical test to quantify sleepiness measuring alpha power during 2 cycle of eye opening/closing protocol. We collected alpha waves’ power measures obtained during resting condition (AA Coefficient–eyes open (AAC–eo), AAC–eyes closed (AAC–ec) and AAC–mean), related to fatigue, and AAC–ec/AAC–eo (AAC–ratio), related to sleepiness. From a two–months observation, the first interesting preliminary results emerged: i) AAC–mean, AAC–eo and AAC–ec showed an upward trend during the working day, reflecting an increase in mental fatigue (p