Construct Validity of a Virtual Reality Simulator for Surgical Training in Knee Arthroscopy

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Surgical Simulation
• Medical Education

Background:

• Orthopedic residents traditionally learn surgical techniques on patients, posing risks and access limitations.
• Virtual reality (VR) simulators offer a safe, accessible platform for practicing standardized surgical tasks with realistic feedback.
• Evaluating the validity of VR simulators is crucial for their integration into surgical training programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the construct validity of a VR simulator for knee arthroscopy.
• To determine if system performance parameters can differentiate between expert and novice orthopedic surgeons.
• To analyze the accuracy of a VR simulator in distinguishing surgical skill levels.

Main Methods:

• A comparative cross-sectional study design was employed.
• Novice (n=20) and expert (n=10) orthopedic surgeons performed standardized knee arthroscopy tasks on the ARTHRO Mentor VR simulator.
• Automated performance reports were analyzed, comparing median scores and using multivariate logistic regression for discrimination analysis.

Main Results:

• Expert surgeons consistently outperformed novice surgeons across most basic and advanced surgical tasks.
• The VR system accurately discriminated between expert and novice users with 100% accuracy based on performance metrics.
• Key system parameters effectively differentiated skill levels in knee arthroscopy simulation.

Conclusions:

• The VR knee arthroscopy simulator demonstrates strong construct validity.
• Performance metrics generated by the simulator reliably distinguish between varying levels of surgical expertise.
• This VR simulator is a valuable tool for assessing and training orthopedic surgeons in knee arthroscopy.