Quantitative influence and performance analysis of virtual reality laparoscopic surgical training system

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Virtual reality (VR) surgery training is increasingly used in medical education.
• Existing studies often rely on subjective methods to assess skill improvement.
• There is a need for objective, quantitative methods to evaluate VR surgical training effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To objectively evaluate the influence and performance of a VR laparoscopic surgical training system for medical students.
• To quantitatively analyze skill improvement using physiological data.
• To explore the relationship between cognitive load, flow experience, and surgical performance.

Main Methods:

• Fifty-one medical students participated in pre- and post-training experiments using VR laparoscopic surgery simulators (VRLS).
• Physiological data (heart rate, EEG) and operational performance were recorded.
• Cognitive load and flow experience were quantitatively computed from physiological data and validated with questionnaires. Performance was assessed using hybrid and GOALS standards.

Main Results:

• Training on VRLS led to a significant decrease in task completion time (p < 0.01).
• Performance scores significantly improved post-training (p < 0.01).
• EEG-derived cognitive load was negatively correlated with performance (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• VRLS effectively enhances medical students' surgical performance and facilitates flow experience.
• Quantitative physiological analysis demonstrates a negative correlation between cognitive load and performance.
• This approach offers a novel method for assessing surgical skill acquisition.