Prior video-gaming, musical, and athletic experience and short-term robotic simulator performance in medical...

Robotic-assisted surgery demands a high level of bimanual dexterity, spatial awareness, and fine motor control. Training in musical instruments, athletics, and video games can allow for a similar skillset. Prior studies report improved baseline performance on robotic simulators among individuals with such training, but comparative effects of specific subtypes of training remain unexplored. This study evaluates how musical instrument, athletic, and gaming experience are associated with robotic simulator performance and short-term change in performance among medical students. 23 medical student volunteers with no prior robotic training completed two sessions using the da Vinci^® Skills Simulator evaluating basic system control and suturing. The sessions were performed one week apart to assess short-term change in performance. Each student completed a questionnaire evaluating their prior fine motor skills training including experience with musical instruments, athletics, and video gaming. Baseline suturing scores were significantly higher in participants with video game experience (p = 0.015, d = 1.18, 95% CI [0.12, 2.23]); however, video game experience was not associated with a significant overall performance difference (p = 0.398) or differential improvement between groups (p = 0.270). Musical instrument experience was not significantly associated with an overall performance difference or differential improvement for either task. Athletic experience was associated with a significantly higher overall performance difference for suturing (p = 0.026, d = 1.02, 95% CI [-0.23, 2.27]) and with significantly higher repeat suturing scores specifically (p = 0.027, d = 1.36, 95% CI [0.08, 2.64]), though differential improvement between groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.263, d = 1.10, 95% CI [-0.16, 2.36]). In this exploratory pilot study, video game experience was associated with higher baseline suturing performance, but this was not accompanied by a statistically significant difference in the rate of improvement over the one-week interval studied. Athletic experience was associated with higher overall suturing performance across sessions, though this subgroup was small and unbalanced (n = 3 without athletic experience) and the difference in improvement between groups was not statistically significant. These findings should be interpreted as preliminary and hypothesis-generating.