Premium
Short‐phase training on a virtual reality simulator improves technical performance in tele‐robotic surgery
Author(s) -
Balasundaram Indran,
Aggarwal Rajesh,
Darzi Ara
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the international journal of medical robotics and computer assisted surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1478-596X
pISSN - 1478-5951
DOI - 10.1002/rcs.181
Subject(s) - virtual reality , computer science , simulation , task (project management) , learning curve , training (meteorology) , robot , human–computer interaction , artificial intelligence , operating system , engineering , physics , systems engineering , meteorology
Background The da Vinci tele‐robot necessitates the acquisition of new skills and surgical educators must develop standardized training programmes. It is possible that virtual reality (VR) computer simulation maybe used and it is necessary to define whether a simulator is an appropriate tool. Methods Ten surgical novices performed a series of five tasks, ten times on a commercially available VR robotic simulator. Two experts repeated the series of tasks twice in an attempt to validate the simulator. Results Each of the five tasks displayed statistically significant learning curves. Error scores did not improve significantly over successive repetitions except in one task. The experts completed two of the tasks in a significantly faster time. Conclusions Practice sessions on a VR simulator improve technical performance. The simulator enables surgeons to mount the early part of the learning curve within a laboratory environment, which may lead to a more effective training programme. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.