Moshim Kukar, MD, Saleh Dindar, Jorg Peters, Juan Cendan, James Hassett, Ruth Nawotnyak, Sukitti Punak, William G Cance, MD, Sergei Kurenov
Department of Surgical Oncology Roswell Park Cancer Institute, CISE University of Florida, Clinical Skills and Simulation Center University of Central Florida, Department of Surgery University at Buffalo
Introduction: With increasing utilization of minimally invasive approaches in surgery, there has been a surge in the virtual reality (VR) training simulators. Despite a multitude of simulators available, there is a need for effective, easily accessible training equipment that is cost effective as well. We have developed a Toolkit for Illustration Procedures in Surgery to help address these needs. The TIPS allows the expert surgeon to create a VR-based illustration of procedure within few hours, explaining critical steps of operation in the 3D virtual environment and providing haptically-based force feedback during the training.
Methods: For the proof of concept validation, we choose the adrenalectomy procedure within TIPS. We randomly choose 9 senior surgical residents, 9 surgical oncology fellows and 4 practicing GI surgeons to test, evaluate and validate the model. All participants filled out a pre and post TIPS questionnaire.
Results: 95.6 % (n=22) felt that the model simulated the steps of the procedure accurately and help them understand the steps involved. 86.9% (20/23) felt that the module prepared them well for this procedure. The major criticism (n=14) was that the module did not help them foresee any unexpected complications. 87.5% (n=21) believed that they would certainly use the kit to refresh their knowledge prior to the procedure.
Conclusions: Using the adrenalectomy module within TIPS, we have been able to validate an effective, cheap simulation tool that can be used for learning purposes at various levels of training. The ease of development, accessibility, interactive haptic feedback and minimal cost will make this tool highly lucrative for teaching purposes.
Session: Poster Presentation
Program Number: P159
