Supporting skill acquisition in cochlear implant surgery through virtual reality simulation. (4th March 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Copson, Bridget; Wijewickrema, Sudanthi; Zhou, Yun; Piromchai, Patorn; Briggs, Robert; Bailey, James; Kennedy, Gregor; O'Leary, Stephen
• Is Part Of: Cochlear implants international. Volume 18:Number 2(2017)
• Page Start: 89
• Page End: 96
• Publication Date: 2017-03-04
• Subjects: Virtual reality -- ENT -- Simulation -- Surgery -- Training -- Cochlear implant -- Cochleostomy -- Skill aquisition; Cochlear implants -- Periodicals; 617.882
• DOI: 10.1080/14670100.2017.1289299
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1467-0100

Abstract

Abstract : Objectives : To evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR) temporal bone simulator in training cochlear implant surgery. Methods : We compared the performance of 12 otolaryngology registrars conducting simulated cochlear implant surgery before (pre-test) and after (post-tests) receiving training on a VR temporal bone surgery simulator with automated performance feedback. The post-test tasks were two temporal bones, one that was a mirror image of the temporal bone used as a pre-test and the other, a novel temporal bone. Participant performances were assessed by an otologist with a validated cochlear implant competency assessment tool. Structural damage was derived from an automatically generated simulator metric and compared between time points. Results : Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed that there was a significant improvement with a large effect size in the total performance scores between the pre-test (PT) and both the first and second post-tests (PT1, PT2) (PT-PT1: P = 0.007, r = 0.78, PT-PT2: P = 0.005, r = 0.82). Conclusion : The results of the study indicate that VR simulation with automated guidance can effectively be used to train surgeons in training complex temporal bone surgeries such as cochlear implantation.