Evaluation of User Performance in Simulation-Based Diagnostic Cerebral Angiography Training

Area of Science:

• Medical Simulation
• Neurosurgery Training
• Radiology Education

Background:

• Computer-based simulation is increasingly used for complex medical procedures like angiography.
• Assessing the effectiveness of these simulation modules requires rigorous research.
• Understanding optimal training strategies is crucial for skill acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate skill acquisition in diagnostic cerebral angiography using a simulator.
• To compare the effectiveness of two training schemas: alternating and consistent cases.
• To determine if alternating practice cases enhance performance in angiography simulation.

Main Methods:

• Eight residents (radiology/neurosurgery) and 8 anatomy graduate students trained on the Simbionix™ simulator.
• Training involved 8 sessions focused on diagnostic cerebral angiography.
• Performance metrics included procedure time, fluoroscopy time, contrast injected, and roadmaps created.

Main Results:

• Participants demonstrated significant improvement in total procedure time and total fluoroscopy time (p<0.05).
• No significant improvements were observed in contrast injected or roadmaps created.
• There were no statistically significant differences in skill acquisition between alternating and consistent training groups.

Conclusions:

• Simulator training can enhance efficiency metrics in diagnostic cerebral angiography.
• Current evidence does not support alternating case training over consistent case training for this simulation.
• Further research with larger sample sizes and visuospatial assessments is needed.