• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Log in
  • Search
    • Search All SAGES Content
    • Search SAGES Guidelines
    • Search the Video Library
    • Search the Image Library
    • Search the Abstracts Archive
www.sages.org

SAGES

Reimagining surgical care for a healthier world

  • Home
    • Search
    • SAGES Home
    • SAGES Foundation Home
  • About
    • Awards
    • Who Is SAGES?
    • Leadership
    • Our Mission
    • Advocacy
    • Committees
      • SAGES Board of Governors
      • Officers and Representatives of the Society
      • Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs
      • Committee Rosters
      • SAGES Past Presidents
  • Meetings
    • SAGES NBT Innovation Weekend
    • SAGES Annual Meeting
      • 2026 Scientific Session Call for Abstracts
      • 2026 Emerging Technology Call for Abstracts
    • CME Claim Form
    • SAGES Past, Present, Future, and Related Meeting Information
    • SAGES Related Meetings & Events Calendar
  • Join SAGES!
    • Membership Application
    • Membership Benefits
    • Membership Types
      • Requirements and Applications for Active Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Affiliate Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Associate Active Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Candidate Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for International Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements for Medical Student Membership
    • Member Spotlight
    • Give the Gift of SAGES Membership
  • Patients
    • Join the SAGES Patient Partner Network (PPN)
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Healthy Sooner – Patient Information for Minimally Invasive Surgery
    • Choosing Wisely – An Initiative of the ABIM Foundation
    • All in the Recovery: Colorectal Cancer Alliance
    • Find A SAGES Surgeon
  • Publications
    • Clinical / Practice / Training Guidelines, Statements, and Standards of Practice
    • Sustainability in Surgical Practice
    • SAGES Stories Podcast
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Patient Information From SAGES
    • TAVAC – Technology and Value Assessments
    • Surgical Endoscopy and Other Journal Information
    • SAGES Manuals
    • MesSAGES – The SAGES Newsletter
    • COVID-19 Archive
    • Troubleshooting Guides
  • Education
    • Wellness Resources – You Are Not Alone
    • Avoid Opiates After Surgery
    • SAGES Subscription Catalog
    • SAGES TV: Home of SAGES Surgical Videos
    • The SAGES Safe Cholecystectomy Program
    • Masters Program
    • Resident and Fellow Opportunities
      • MIS Fellows Course
      • SAGES Robotics Residents and Fellows Courses
      • SAGES Free Resident Webinar Series
      • Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Course for Fellows
      • Fellows’ Career Development Course
    • SAGES S.M.A.R.T. Enhanced Recovery Program
    • SAGES @ Cine-Med Products
      • SAGES Top 21 Minimally Invasive Procedures Every Practicing Surgeon Should Know
      • SAGES Pearls Step-by-Step
      • SAGES Flexible Endoscopy 101
    • SAGES OR SAFETY Video Activity
  • Opportunities
    • Fellowship Recognition Opportunities
    • SAGES Advanced Flexible Endoscopy Area of Concentrated Training (ACT) SEAL
    • Multi-Society Foregut Fellowship Certification
    • Research Opportunities
    • FLS
    • FES
    • FUSE
    • Jobs Board
    • SAGES Go Global: Global Affairs and Humanitarian Efforts
  • OWLS/FLS
You are here: Home / Abstracts / Validation of a Virtual Reality Based Robotic Surgical Skills Curriculum

Validation of a Virtual Reality Based Robotic Surgical Skills Curriculum

Michael Connolly, BS, John Seligman, BA, Maurice Page, MD, Andrew Kastenmeier, MD, Matthew I Goldblatt, MD, Jon C Gould, MD

Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery

Background: The clinical application of robotic assisted surgery (RAS) is rapidly increasing. The daVinci Surgical System™ is currently the only commercially available RAS system, and utilization is rapidly proliferating nationally. The skills necessary to perform robotic surgery are unique from those required for both open and laparoscopic surgery. A validated laparoscopic surgical skills curriculum (Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery or FLS™) has transformed the way surgeons acquire laparoscopic skills. There is a need for a similar skills training and assessment tool specific for robotic surgery. Based on previously published data and expert opinion, we developed a robotic skills curriculum. We sought to evaluate this curriculum for evidence of construct validity (ability to discriminate between users of different skill levels).

Methods: Four expert surgeons (defined as having performed >20 RAS) and twelve novice surgeons (second-year medical students with no surgical or RAS experience) were evaluated. The curriculum comprised five tasks utilizing the daVinci™ Skills Simulator (Pick & Place, Camera Targeting 2, Peg Board 2, Matchboard 2, and Suture Sponge 3). After an orientation to the robot and a practice period of acclimation in the simulator, all subjects completed three consecutive repetitions of each task. Computer-derived performance metrics included time, economy of motion, master work space, instrument collisions, excessive force, distance of instruments out of view, drops, missed targets (in the case of the suture sponge), and overall score (a composite of all metrics). Performance of the two groups was compared using the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test with p<0.05 considered significant.

Results: Expert surgeons significantly outperformed novice surgeons in almost all metrics. Statistically significant differences were detected for each task in regards to mean overall scores and mean time to completion.

Task Mean Expert Overall Mean Novice Overall p-value Mean Time Expert Mean Time Novice p-value
Pick&Place 94.9 91.7 0.03 27.9 sec 45.4 sec 0.0002
Camera Target 2 87.2 62.8 <0.0001 86.5 sec 259.7 sec <0.0001
Pegboard 2 95.9 78.2 <0.0001 73.1 sec 140.3 sec <0.0001
Matchboard 2 81.1 57 <0.0001 96.3 sec 192.5 sec <0.0001
Suture Sponge 3 85.3 42 <0.0001 200.4 sec 530.6 sec <0.0001

Conclusion: The curriculum we propose is a valid method of assessing and distinguishing robotic surgical skill levels on the da Vinci Si™ Surgical System.. The next step is to establish proficiency levels based on expert performance, and to see if novice surgeons can train to these levels and acquire robotic surgical skills in a simulator.


Session: Poster Presentation

Program Number: P152

103

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky

Related


sages_adbutler_leaderboard

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!

  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · SAGES · All Rights Reserved

Important Links

Healthy Sooner: Patient Information

SAGES Guidelines, Statements, & Standards of Practice

SAGES Manuals