Biography

Dr. Sankaranarayanan is the co-director of the Center for Assessment of Surgical Proficiency, which focuses on surgical simulation and surgical proficiency. Dr. Sankaranarayanan comes to the Department of Surgery from the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, where he was an assistant director for its Center for Evidence Based Simulation. 
 
Dr. Sankaranarayanan earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. He performed postdoctoral research at the Advanced Computational Research Laboratory of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, which included studying virtual surgery simulation and medical robotics. He later served as an assistant professor and research scientist at the institute. Dr. Sankaranarayanan has also been an adjunct professor of electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington and a clinical associate professor at the Texas A&M College of Medicine. 
 
Dr. Sankaranarayanan has conducted more than a dozen investigations that have been funded by the NIH, industry, and other sponsors. His work has included creating virtual reality simulators for surgery, using artificial intelligence to identify anatomy in laparoscopic procedures, and employing haptic devices via the internet. Dr. Sankaranarayanan’s findings have been published in Annals of Surgery, the American Journal of Surgery, and Surgical Endoscopy. His lap band simulator was a finalist for an “Immy” award at the Immersive Technology Summit. In addition, he has held key roles in the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, including serving as the vice chair of its alternate funding task force and as a lead member of its fundamental use of surgical energy (FUSE) task force.

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Immersive virtual reality-based training improves response in a simulated operating room fire scenario.
Sankaranarayanan G, Wooley L, Hogg D, Dorozhkin D, Olasky J, Chauhan S, Fleshman JW, De S, Scott D, Jones DB, Surg Endosc 2018 08 32 8 3439-3449
Artificial Intelligence for Intraoperative Guidance: Using Semantic Segmentation to Identify Surgical Anatomy During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.
Madani A, Namazi B, Altieri MS, Hashimoto DA, Rivera AM, Pucher PH, Navarrete-Welton A, Sankaranarayanan G, Brunt LM, Okrainec A, Alseidi A, Ann Surg 2020 Nov
Training with cognitive load improves performance under similar conditions in a real surgical task.
Sankaranarayanan G, Odlozil CA, Wells KO, Leeds SG, Chauhan S, Fleshman JW, Jones DB, De S, Am J Surg 2020 09 220 3 620-629
Validation of the VBLaST pattern cutting task: a learning curve study.
Linsk AM, Monden KR, Sankaranarayanan G, Ahn W, Jones DB, De S, Schwaitzberg SD, Cao CGL, Surg Endosc 2018 04 32 4 1990-2002
Learning Curve Associated With an Automated Laparoscopic Suturing Device Compared With Laparoscopic Suturing.
Leeds SG, Wooley L, Sankaranarayanan G, Daoud Y, Fleshman J, Chauhan S, Surg Innov 2017 Apr 24 2 109-114
Achieving Interface and Environment Fidelity in the Virtual Basic Laparoscopic Surgical Trainer.
Chellali A, Mentis H, Miller A, Ahn W, Arikatla VS, Sankaranarayanan G, De S, Schwaitzberg SD, Cao CGL, Int J Hum Comput Stud 2016 Dec 96 22-37
Face and content validation of a Virtual Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery Trainer (VTEST™).
Dorozhkin D, Nemani A, Roberts K, Ahn W, Halic T, Dargar S, Wang J, Cao CG, Sankaranarayanan G, De S, Surg Endosc 2016 12 30 12 5529-5536
A hierarchical task analysis of cricothyroidotomy procedure for a virtual airway skills trainer simulator.
Demirel D, Butler KL, Halic T, Sankaranarayanan G, Spindler D, Cao C, Petrusa E, Molina M, Jones DB, De S, deMoya MA, Am J Surg 2016 Sep 212 3 475-84
3D force/torque characterization of emergency cricothyroidotomy procedure using an instrumented scalpel.
Ryason A, Sankaranarayanan G, Butler KL, DeMoya M, De S, Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2016 Aug 2016 2145-2148
Development of a Haptic Interface for Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery Simulation.
Dargar S, De S, Sankaranarayanan G, IEEE Trans Haptics 2016 Jul-Sep 9 3 333-44

Honors & Awards
  • Best Research Poster
    Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference (2021)
  • Finalist, Immersive Tech (immy) Award
    Lap Band Simulator (2010)
  • Best Research Poster Award
    Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference (2009)
  • Electrical Engineering Department Chair’s Award
    University of Washington (2006)