Ophthalmic surgical simulation: a new era

Simulation has been widely used to great effect in many high-risk industries and well validated in a number of medical disciplines. Different forms of medical simulation exist, from traditional wet laboratories, through immersive scenarios, to modern high-fidelity simulation such as virtual reality. What remains unestablished is the exact when, where, and how this technology should fit within recognized ophthalmic training systems. The International Forum of Ophthalmic Simulation is a multinational, multicenter collaborative established to introduce and evaluate virtual-reality simulation through a global cloud of networked simulators. In this article, we detail the modern evolution of virtual-reality simulation in ophthalmology and present the ultimate goal of the profession and the International Forum of Ophthalmic Simulation, which is to develop a virtual-reality program that augments and accelerates surgical training, thereby improving outcomes for trainees, trainers, and patients.