Development of Ophthalmic Microsurgery Training in Augmented Reality

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Simulation
• Medical Education

Background:

• Microsurgery training faces limitations in practice opportunities and standardized assessment.
• Augmented reality (AR) simulators offer a potential solution for improving surgical skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if AR microsurgery training improves motor skills.
• To determine if an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) enhances training efficiency in AR simulators.

Main Methods:

• Identified and implemented key steps of internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling in an AR simulation.
• Trained 23 physician trainees over 5 days, comparing a natural sequence method with an ITS-guided method.
• Assessed motor skill performance before and after training sessions using AR and non-AR methods.

Main Results:

• Both AR training methods significantly improved participants' motor skills.
• Steeper learning progress was observed within the first three training days, particularly with the ITS.
• While both methods showed improvement, the ITS demonstrated faster initial skill acquisition.

Conclusions:

• AR simulation effectively enhances microsurgical motor skills.
• The ITS component of AR training accelerates initial skill acquisition.
• AR solutions can address constraints in microsurgical training, though technical improvements like reducing system lag are needed.