Development of an electrosurgery-compatible simulation task for quantitatively assessing oral cancer resection...

Area of Science:

• Surgical Simulation
• Medical Education Technology
• Oral Oncology

Background:

• Oral cancer resection quality is vital for patient survival and local control.
• Existing simulators lack objective feedback or electrosurgery compatibility.
• A novel simulation task was developed to address these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an electrosurgical simulation task for oral cancer resection.
• To provide objective, quantitative metrics for assessing surgical performance.
• To enhance simulation-based training for improved patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A plant-derived soft tissue model compatible with electrosurgery was utilized.
• Quantitative metrics included margin error distance and tumor bed carbonization degree.
• Validity was assessed through expert surgeon questionnaires and performance comparisons (experts vs. novices).

Main Results:

• The simulation task received high expert evaluations (4.4/5) for realism and metrics (4.8/5).
• Experts demonstrated significantly better performance than novices, with smaller margin errors (0.79 mm vs. 2.45 mm) and lower carbonization (ΔE: 2.33 vs. 8.70).
• The quantitative measures showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.803).

Conclusions:

• The developed simulation task is user-friendly, electrosurgery-compatible, and offers objective performance metrics.
• It serves as a practical tool for formative feedback in simulation-based surgical training.
• This technology can improve the quality of oral cancer resection and patient outcomes.