Purpose
The utilization of surgical simulation continues to grow in medical training. The
TouchSurgery application (app) is a new interactive virtual reality smartphone- or
tablet-based app that offers a step-by-step tutorial and simulation for the execution
of various operations. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of the
app versus traditional teaching modalities utilizing the “Carpal Tunnel Surgery” module.
We hypothesized that users of the app would score higher than those using the traditional
education medium indicating higher understanding of the steps of surgery.
Methods
A total of 100 medical students were recruited to participate. The control group (n = 50)
consisted of students learning about carpal tunnel release surgery using a video lecture
utilizing slides. The study group (n = 50) consisted of students learning the procedure
through the app. The content covered was identical in both groups but delivered through
the different mediums. Outcome measures included comparison of test scores and overall
app satisfaction.
Results
Test scores in the study group (89.3%) using the app were significantly higher than
those in the control group (75.6%). Students in the study group rated the overall
content validity, quality of graphics, ease of use, and usefulness to surgery preparation
as very high (4.8 of 5).
Conclusions
Students utilizing the app performed better on a standardized test examining the steps
of a carpal tunnel release than those using a traditional teaching modality. The study
findings lend support for the use of the app for medical students to prepare for and
learn the steps for various surgical procedures.
Clinical relevance
This study provides useful information on surgical simulation, which can be utilized
to educate trainees for new procedures.
Key words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Hand SurgeryAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.Springer, Berlin2007
- Support for simulation-based surgical education through American College of Surgeons–accredited education institutes.World J Surg. 2007; 32: 196-207
- Teaching surgical skills—changes in the wind.N Engl J Med. 2006; 355: 2664-2669
- Percentage of procedural knowledge acquired as a function of the number of experts from whom knowledge is acquired for diagnosis, debugging and interpretation tasks.Int J Hum Comput. 1994; 6: 221-233
- Assessing the teaching of procedural skills: can cognitive-task-analysis add to our traditional teaching methods?.Am J Surg. 2008; 195: 20-23
- Cognitive elements in clinical decision-making.Adv Health Sci Educ. 2009; 15: 229-250
- Surgical training using simulation.BMJ. 2009; 338: b1001
- Validating Touch Surgery: a cognitive task simulation and rehearsal app for intramedullary femoral nailing.Injury. 2015; 46: 2212-2216
- Cognitive task analysis.Int J Educ Res. 1996; 25: 403-417
- Surgical residents’ perception of simulation training.Am Surg. 2006; 72: 521-524
- Cognitive task analysis for expert-based instruction in healthcare.in: Spector M.J. Merrill M.D. Elen J. Bishop M.J. Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology. Springer Science+Business Media, New York2013: 541-551
- Handling Complexity in Learning Environments: Research and Theory.Elsevier, Oxford2006: 283-297
- Introduction to cognitive task analysis.in: Schraagen J.M. Chipman S.F. Shalin V.L. Cognitive Task Analysis. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ2000: 3-23
- Utilization of a cognitive task analysis for laparoscopic appendectomy to identify differentiated intraoperative teaching objectives.Am J Surg. 2012; 203: 540-545
- Integrated studies on the use of cognitive task analysis to capture surgical expertise for central venous catheter placement and open cricothyrotomy.Am J Surg. 2012; 203: 76-80
- The effectiveness of a cognitive task analysis informed curriculum to increase self-efficacy and improve performance for an open cricothyrotomy.J Surg Educ. 2011; 68: 403-407
- Mental practice enhances surgical technical skills: a randomized controlled study.Ann Surg. 2011; 253: 265-270
- Cognitive task analysis for teaching technical skills in an inanimate surgical skills laboratory.Am J Surg. 2004; 187: 114-119
- Passive haptics in a knee arthroscopy simulator: is it valid for core skills training?.Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2006; 442: 13-20
- The virtual reality arthroscopy training simulator.Stud Health Technol Inform. 1998; 50: 13-19
- Force sensing-based simulator for arthroscopic skills assessment in orthopaedic knee surgery.Stud Health Technol Inform. 2012; 173: 129-135
- Report of a group developing a virtual reality simulator for arthroscopic surgery of the knee joint.Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2006; 442: 21-29
- Virtual reality training improves operating room performance: results of a randomized, double-blinded study.Ann Surg. 2002; 236: 458-463
- Virtual ureteroscopy predicts ureteroscopic proficiency of medical students on a cadaver.J Urol. 2004; 172: 667-671
- Validation of computer-based training in ureterorenoscopy.BJU Int. 2005; 95: 1276-1279
- Virtual reality ureteroscopy simulator as a valid tool for assessing endourological skills.Int J Urol. 2006; 13: 896-901
- Haptic feedback in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery.Curr Opin Urol. 2009; 19: 102-107
- Randomized clinical trial of virtual reality simulation for laparoscopic skills training.Br J Surg. 2004; 91: 146-150
Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 18, 2017
Accepted:
February 10,
2017
Received:
April 18,
2016
Footnotes
No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article.
This study was performed at the Temple University School of Medicine and the Rothman Institute at the Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. All rights reserved.
