Virtual reality simulators may improve procedural accuracy compared with technique guides
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Compared with a standard technique guide, virtual reality improved procedural accuracy and completion proportion for orthopedic residents training to insert an intramedullary tibial nail into synthetic bone, according to published results.
Researchers from the department of orthopedics at the University of Illinois recruited 25 first- and second-year orthopedic residents with no prior exposure to intramedullary tibial nail insertion to participate in their level-1 therapeutic study. Eight participants were assigned to the technique guide control group, eight participants were assigned to the virtual reality group and nine participants were assigned to a virtual reality and technique guide group, according to the study.
“After 10 to 14 days of preparation, all participants attempted to insert an intramedullary nail into an intact, compact bone-model tibia that lacked surroundings of tissue,” researchers wrote in the study. “A procedure was considered complete if the nail and screw were properly placed. Procedural accuracy was dened as the number of incorrect steps normalized out of the 16 possible performed,” they wrote.
One orthopedic surgeon evaluated a blinded video of all procedures, as to not identify the participant, the participant’s gender or the group to which the participant was assigned.
“A higher proportion of participants in the virtual reality group [six out of eight participants] and the virtual reality and technique guide group [seven out of nine participants] completed the intramedullary nail than did participants in the technique guide group [two out of eight participants],” the researchers wrote. “Participants in the virtual reality and virtual reality and technique guide had fewer normalized incorrect steps than did participants in the technique guide group,” they added.
“Based on our findings, virtual reality may help residents learn the procedural work ow and movements required to perform surgical procedures,” the researchers concluded. “Future studies should examine how and when exactly the technology can be applied to residencies and its impact on residents,” they wrote.
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