Basel Ahmad

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Papers

Total Citations

147

H-Index

About

Basel Ahmad investigates the intersection of human factors, team dynamics, and technology in high-stakes surgical environments, with a primary focus on robot-assisted surgery (RAS). His work reveals how physical space, communication, and cognitive load shape surgical performance and safety. Ahmad’s landmark study on ambulatory movements and team interactions during RAS (63 citations) demonstrated that congestion around robotic consoles can create workflow bottlenecks and predispose teams to errors. He further explored how surgeons and teams rely on both verbal and nonverbal cues—showing in a highly cited 2018 paper (51 citations) that gestures are as critical as spoken instructions in the robotic OR. His cognitive analysis of technical mentorship during RAS (29 citations) introduced mental workload assessments as a key metric for evaluating training effectiveness. By systematically linking communication gaps to surgical failures, Ahmad has advanced the understanding of multimodal team interactions, highlighting the often-overlooked role of nonverbal behavior. His research offers actionable insights for improving OR design, team training, and patient safety in the era of minimally invasive robotic surgery.