Open AccessConstruct validity of the LapSim virtual reality laparoscopic
Author(s) -
Evan Kovac,
Raed A. Azhar,
Adrienne Quirouet,
Johanne Delisle,
Maurice Anidjar
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
canadian urological association journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.477
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1920-1214
pISSN - 1911-6470
DOI - 10.5489/cuaj.293
Subject(s) - wilcoxon signed rank test , construct validity , context (archaeology) , test (biology) , construct (python library) , virtual reality , medicine , psychology , simulation , medical education , computer science , surgery , artificial intelligence , pedagogy , patient satisfaction , programming language , paleontology , biology , curriculum
Objective: We assessed the construct validity of the LapSim laparoscopic surgical simulator in a urology residency training program.Methods: In total, 15 residents participated in the study betweenJuly 2007 and July 2008. The subjects were tested six times at onemonth intervals on three skill tasks (lifting and grasping, cuttingand clip application) using the LapSim laparoscopic simulator. Thetesting sessions were divided into the first three sessions (seminar1), and the subsequent three sessions (seminar 2). We evaluated thefollowing parameters: total time, path length, angular path length,tissue damage, maximum damage and stretch damage. The subjectswere divided into junior (PGY 1,2) and senior resident groups(PGY 3,4,5). The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test for paired sampleswas used to compare the performances of the juniors and seniorsduring seminar 1 to their performance in seminar 2 to determinewhether there was improvement over time. The Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test for independent samples was used to compare the performance of the juniors to that of the seniors for seminar 1, seminar 2 and the combination of both seminars to determine whether the more experienced senior residents performed better than the lessexperienced juniors.Results: No significant performance improvement between testingsessions could be demonstrated. Similarly, there was no significantdifference in performance between junior and senior residents.Conclusions: Construct validity could not be demonstrated for thetotal time, path length, angular path length and tissue handlingparameters of the LapSim laparoscopic surgical simulator whenexamined within the context of a urology residency program.