Immersive virtual reality as a surgical training tool: A cohort study.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Virtual Reality Technology

Background:

• Limited research exists on immersive virtual reality (iVR) for surgical skills acquisition, particularly using real-world recordings.
• This study addresses the efficacy of iVR in teaching basic suturing to novices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if 360° iVR instructional recordings enhance basic suturing skills more than traditional methods.
• To compare iVR training with written manuals and 2D videos for novice surgical skill development.

Main Methods:

• A partially blinded randomized cohort study involving 44 pre-university students.
• Participants were assigned to written manual, 2D video, or iVR training groups.
• Suturing performance was assessed pre- and post-intervention by blinded judges and timed completion.

Main Results:

• The iVR group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in suturing scores compared to the written manual group (p=0.031).
• iVR training also resulted in significantly greater improvements in suturing time efficiency versus the written manual group (p=0.045).
• While iVR showed a trend towards better outcomes than 2D videos, these differences did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions:

• Immersive virtual reality (iVR) training with real-world 360° recordings effectively improves surgical suturing skills and efficiency.
• iVR shows potential as a superior training modality compared to written materials and may offer advantages over 2D videos for surgical education.