• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

SAGES

Reimagining surgical care for a healthier world

  • Home
    • Search
    • SAGES Home
    • SAGES Foundation Home
  • About
    • Who is SAGES?
    • SAGES Mission Statement
    • Advocacy
    • Strategic Plan, 2020-2023
    • Committees
      • Request to Join a SAGES Committee
      • SAGES Board of Governors
      • Officers and Representatives of the Society
      • Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs
      • Full Committee Rosters
      • SAGES Past Presidents
    • Donate to the SAGES Foundation
    • SAGES Store
    • Awards
      • George Berci Award
      • Pioneer in Surgical Endoscopy
      • Excellence In Clinical Care
      • International Ambassador
      • IRCAD Visiting Fellowship
      • Social Justice and Health Equity
      • Excellence in Community Surgery
      • Distinguished Service
      • Early Career Researcher
      • Researcher in Training
      • Jeff Ponsky Master Educator
      • Excellence in Medical Leadership
      • Barbara Berci Memorial Award
      • Brandeis Scholarship
      • Advocacy Summit
      • RAFT Annual Meeting Abstract Contest and Awards
    • “Unofficial” Logo Products
  • Meetings
    • NBT Innovation Weekend
    • SAGES Annual Meeting
      • 2024 Scientific Session Call For Abstracts
      • 2024 Emerging Technology Call For Abstracts
    • CME Claim Form
    • Industry
      • Advertising Opportunities
      • Exhibit Opportunities
      • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Future Meetings
    • Related Meetings Calendar
  • Join SAGES!
    • Membership Benefits
    • Membership Applications
      • Active Membership
      • Affiliate Membership
      • Associate Active Membership
      • Candidate Membership
      • International Membership
      • Medical Student Membership
    • Member News
      • Member Spotlight
      • Give the Gift of SAGES Membership
  • Patients
    • Healthy Sooner – Patient Information for Minimally Invasive Surgery
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Choosing Wisely – An Initiative of the ABIM Foundation
    • All in the Recovery: Colorectal Cancer Alliance
    • Find a SAGES Member
  • Publications
    • SAGES Stories Podcast
    • SAGES Clinical / Practice / Training Guidelines, Statements, and Standards of Practice
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • TAVAC – Technology and Value Assessments
    • Surgical Endoscopy and Other Journal Information
    • SAGES Manuals
    • SCOPE – The SAGES Newsletter
    • COVID-19 Annoucements
    • Troubleshooting Guides
  • Education
    • Wellness Resources – You Are Not Alone
    • OpiVoid.org
    • SAGES.TV Video Library
    • Safe Cholecystectomy Program
      • Safe Cholecystectomy Didactic Modules
    • Masters Program
      • SAGES Facebook Program Collaboratives
      • Acute Care Surgery
      • Bariatric
      • Biliary
      • Colorectal
      • Flexible Endoscopy (upper or lower)
      • Foregut
      • Hernia
      • Robotics
    • Educational Opportunities
    • HPB/Solid Organ Program
    • Courses for Residents
      • Advanced Courses
      • Basic Courses
    • Fellows Career Development Course
    • Robotics Fellows Course
    • MIS Fellows Course
    • Facebook Livestreams
    • Free Webinars For Residents
    • SMART Enhanced Recovery Program
    • SAGES OR SAFETY Video
    • SAGES Top 21 MIS Procedures
    • SAGES Pearls
    • SAGES Flexible Endoscopy 101
    • SAGES Tips & Tricks of the Top 21
  • Opportunities
    • NEW-Area of Concentrated Training Seal (ACT)-Advanced Flexible Endoscopy
    • SAGES Fellowship Certification for Advanced GI MIS and Comprehensive Flexible Endoscopy
    • Multi-Society Foregut Fellowship Certification
    • SAGES Research Opportunities
    • Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery
    • Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery
    • Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy
    • Job Board
    • SAGES Go Global: Global Affairs and Humanitarian Efforts
  • Search
    • Search All SAGES Content
    • Search SAGES Guidelines
    • Search the Video Library
    • Search the Image Library
    • Search the Abstracts Archive
  • OWLS
  • Log In

Face Validation of a Virtual Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery Trainer (VTEST(TM))

Kurt Roberts, MD, FACS1, Denis Dorozhkin, PhD2, Woojin Ahn, PhD2, Tansel Halic, PhD3, Ganesh Sankaranarayanan, PhD2, Suvranu De, ScD2. 1Yale School of Medicine, 2Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 3University of Central Arkansas

INTRODUCTION

Virtual Translumenal Endoscopic Surgical Trainer (VTEST™) is the first virtual reality simulator for the Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES). VTEST™ was developed to train surgeons in the hybrid transvaginal NOTES cholecystectomy procedure. The initial version of the simulator was face validated at the 2013 Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research (NOSCAR) summit. Several areas of improvement were identified as a result, and the corresponding modifications were implemented in the simulator. A subsequent evaluation study to assess the face validity of the latest VTEST™ version was performed.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

A total of twelve subjects with varying NOTES experience (6 experts and 6 novices) participated in this Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved study. The study took place at the 2014 NOSCAR summit. The subjects were asked to perform the hybrid transvaginal NOTES cholecystectomy procedure on VTEST™. The subjects were then asked to answer a 5-point Likert scale feedback questionnaire consisting of fifteen questions: (1) realism of the anatomy, (2) realism in identification of the Calot's triangle, (3) simulator interface realism, (4) rigid scope navigation realism, (5) instrument handling realism, (6) overall realism of the blunt dissection task, (7) overall realism of the gallbladder removal task, (8) overall realism compared to the traditional laparoscopic tasks, (9) force feedback quality, (10) usefulness of the force feedback in performing the tasks (11) usefulness in learning hand-eye coordination (12) usefulness in learning ambidexterity skills, (13) overall usefulness in learning the fundamental NOTES skills (14) trustworthiness of the simulator in quantifying accurate measures of performance (15) trustworthiness of the simulator in providing different hand-eye coordination compared to traditional two-port laparoscopic approach.

RESULTS

Overall subjects rated 9 of the questions above 3 or greater (60%), including the realism of the anatomical features, interface and the tasks (Table 1). However, the results also show that further improvements are needed in blunt dissection and the force feedback quality. The corresponding functionality was newly developed for the 2014 NOSCAR summit, so a certain level of criticism was expected. These points are being addressed in the next iteration of the simulator.

Table 1: Descriptive statistics obtained from the questionnaire study
# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Mean 3.3 3.4 3.6 3.5 2.8 2.3 3.3 2.9 2.5 2.7 3.2 3.0 3.3 2.9 3.6
SD 0.90 0.92 0.81 0.82 0.87 0.67 0.67 0.74 0.52 0.90 0.87 0.89 0.79 0.90 0.50

CONCLUSIONS

The face validity of the latest version of the virtual reality NOTES simulator VTEST™ was successfully established on many aspects of the simulation. Further refinements are currently taking place in order to improve the VTEST™ simulator based on the face validation feedback.

136

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • WhatsApp
  • Reddit

Related

Hours & Info

11300 West Olympic Blvd, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90064
1-310-437-0544
[email protected]
Monday - Friday
8am to 5pm Pacific Time

Find Us Around the Web!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Important Links

SAGES 2024 Meeting Information

Healthy Sooner: Patient Information

SAGES Guidelines, Statements, & Standards of Practice

SAGES Manuals

 

  • taTME Study Info
  • Foundation
  • SAGES.TV
  • MyCME
  • Educational Activities

Copyright © 2023 Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons