The use of virtual reality simulation to determine potential for endoscopic surgery skill acquisition

Efficient acquisition of endoscopic technique is essential for high-level care in surgical practice. In contrast to similar substantial risk industries, there is no standard instrument capable of detecting the potential of surgical residency candidates to develop such skills.

We used the Simbionix "Lapmentor" Virtual reality simulator basic skills tasks 1, 5 and 6 to establish baseline performance of 17 subjects lacking surgical experience, then divided them into two groups. One group trained on the Lapmentor, a validated trainer. The second group trained on a video box trainer using 3 FLS tasks, which correlate with real OR performance. After completing the training program, each group was tested on its training modality and correlations were sought between performance in the screening tasks and final scores in both groups.

Time in Lapmentor task 1 showed significant correlations with total FLS scores (R 0.807 P 0.015), in addition to other benchmark parameters. With the Lapmentor group, time on task 5 demonstrated correlation with itself on the final scores (R 0.794 P 0.011).

Time in the Lapmentor task 1 demonstrates correlations with FLS scores, which translate to better OR performance. The Lapmentor thus shows potential to be used as a screening test for surgical talent.