Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026
Simulator Training for Endovascular Neurosurgery
Published on: May 6, 2020
Effect of fine-motor-skill activities on surgical simulator performance
Anthony T Chung1, Lucas T Lenci1, Kai Wang1
1From the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (Chung, Lenci, Griess, Oetting, Shriver) and the Department of Surgery (Collins), University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, the Department of Biostatistics (Wang), College of Public Health, University of Iowa, and the Veterans Affairs Health Care System (Griess, Oetting, Shriver), Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
Purpose:
To determine the effect of fine motor activity and nondominant-hand training on cataract surgical simulator (Eyesi) performance.
Setting:
Departments of Ophthalmology, University of Iowa, and Veterans Affairs Health Care Systems, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
Design:
Prospective controlled trial.
Methods:
Medical students completed a questionnaire and baseline microsurgical dexterity evaluation using the following 3 surgical simulator tasks: navigation, forceps, and bimanual. Participants were randomized to control (16) or intervention (17) consisting of writing, completing a labyrinth, eating, and brushing teeth once per day with their nondominant hand. Participants returned 4 weeks after baseline evaluation for follow-up simulator testing.
Results:
Of the 33 students, regular video game players had greater baseline scores than nonplayers on navigation (P = .021) and bimanual tasks (P = .089). All participants showed statistically significant improvements in all 3 tasks at follow-up after a single baseline evaluation on the surgical simulator (navigation: P = .004; forceps: P < .001; bimanual: P = .004). Nondominant-hand training with daily activities did not show statistically significant differences for dominant hands or nondominant hands. The intervention group (n = 17) trended toward greater improvement than the control group (n = 16) in navigation (14.78 versus 7.06; P = .445) and bimanual tasks (15.2 versus 6.0; P = .324) at follow-up.
Conclusions:
Regular video game play enhanced baseline microsurgical performance measured on the surgical simulator. Simulation performance improved significantly in the intervention group and control group after 1 session on the simulator. Although not statistically significant, training the nondominant hand with daily activities showed a trend toward improved navigation and bimanual performance.
