Fabrication and Validation of a Cost-Effective Upper Endoscopy Simulator

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Simulation
• Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Background:

• The American Board of Surgery (ABS) mandates the Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) curriculum for residents starting in 2018.
• This curriculum requires both didactic and simulator training, increasing the demand for endoscopic simulators.
• High costs of virtual reality simulators necessitate affordable alternatives for general surgery residency programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a low-cost mechanical simulator for Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) training.
• To provide an economic alternative to expensive virtual reality simulators for surgical residents.

Main Methods:

• A mechanical endoscopic simulator was constructed using inexpensive materials costing approximately $120 USD.
• Eight experienced endoscopists trained with the simulator and then completed a Likert scale survey.
• The survey assessed the simulator's fidelity to live colonoscopies and its suitability for FES curriculum goals.

Main Results:

• The simulator was found to closely replicate live colonoscopies by experienced endoscopists.
• Participants agreed the device would meet all training requirements of the FES curriculum.
• Survey responses indicated strong agreement, with mean scores ranging from 3.8 to 4.4.

Conclusions:

• The developed mechanical simulator offers a cost-effective solution for simulating live upper endoscopies.
• This device is suitable for meeting the training objectives of the Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) curriculum.