Using television monitors to control delicate surgical instruments is a difficult task, says the group of psychologists and surgeons.

Professor Dave Bartram explains how potential keyhole surgeons can be assessed

They have devised a simple computer game which "predicted very well the performance of people during training." This combined with a new competence scoring test would enable "clumsy" surgeons to be screened out before they reach a patient.

"Screening needed"

"At the moment screening doesn't take place," says team leader Professor Dave Bartram of the UK's SHL Group, a test design company. "What one would expect to see in other occupations is initial screening, then training to a criterion, not just a time-serving type of training alongside another surgeon."

"There are political issues," Bartram told BBC News Online, " But from the science point of view we can now identify reliable differences in people's capabilities to do keyhole surgery. It would seem sensible to me that this is made use of.

"If I was having my knee operated on I would want to know that someone was highly competent in those techniques and not learning as they went along."

Professor Dave Bartram explains how potential keyhole surgeons can be assessed

The computer test devised by the group required potential surgeons to follow a steadily moving marker around a triangle using a mouse. The simplicity of the test focuses on the core skill required by keyhole surgeons.

This, say the group, allows surgeons' aptitude to be tested without having to train them in specific keyhole surgery techniques.

They also claim their scoring system, based on how well surgeons perform a keyhole knee operation called an arthroscopy, is more accurate and reliable than previous tests and highlights the skills that surgeons think are important.