NCT00435630

Documenting a Learning Curve and Test-retest Reliability of a Virtual Reality Training Simulator in Laparoscopic Surgery

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 29 (actual)
• Sponsor: Columbia University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the learning curve for each of seven tasks in a virtual reality laparoscopic simulator by medical students.

Detailed description

Developing objective methodology for assessing technical skill is paramount to superior surgical training. Alternatives to the traditional apprenticeship model of surgical training are necessary in today's emphasis on cost containment and professional competency. Metrics are widely employed in virtual environments and provide a yardstick for performance measurement. The current method of defining metrics for medical simulation remains more an art than a science. Many studies have demonstrated that trainees who practice laparoscopic skills in a simulated environment will improve their mastery of those skills when tested in that same environment. Fewer studies have been able to document the learning curve for mastery of tasks in a virtual reality simulator. This study will investigate the learning curve for tasks in a virtual reality laparoscopic simulator.

Conditions

• Education

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	LapSim training	complete curriculum training on LapSim surgical simulator

Timeline

• Start date: 2004-07-01
• Primary completion: 2005-01-01
• Completion: 2008-08-01
• First posted: 2007-02-15
• Last updated: 2012-11-21

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States