Improving robotic skills by video review

Abstract

Background: Since the transition of surgical robot systems into the medical field, physicians have had to develop new dexterity skills. The ideal learning environment for robotic surgery has yet to be discovered. Virtual reality (VR) simulation is a possible safe and economic method. In VR simulator training human feedback is hardly used, and an alternative may be found in video revision. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether adding video review to VR simulation-based training in novice physicians improves their ability to complete a complex robot task. In addition, the secondary goal is to investigate whether the skills learned on the robotic simulator can be transferred to a real robotic system. Materials and Methods: Forty participants, medical students and, medical-PhD candidates, from one university hospital were included. Baseline dexterity skills were measured through completion of a vesicourethral anastomosis on a VR robot simulator and the da Vinci robot. Participants were randomized into a video and control group. The video group practiced skills on the robot simulator with intermediate video revision, whereas the control group had intermediate pause instead. Postintervention dexterity skills were measured using the same exercises as the baseline tests. Results: No significant differences were found in baseline performance. Postintervention results on the VR simulator show that the video group commits significantly fewer injuries to the urethra and sutures at a greater optimal depth. The control group was significantly faster, had less camera travel, and had their instruments less out of view. On the da Vinci robot, participants in both groups performed significantly faster and had better global evaluative assessment of robotic skill score after the training sessions on the VR simulator. Conclusions: Video revision significantly improves the quality of robotic skills in novice surgeons on the VR simulator, although at the expense of time. Furthermore, both groups demonstrated enhanced skills on the da Vinci robot after training sessions, which advocates transferability of skill.