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

Education Clinical Trial

Official title:

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

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00435630
• Other study ID #: AAAA7372
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: February 14, 2007
• Last updated: November 19, 2012
• Start date: July 2004
• Est. completion date: August 2008

Study information

• Verified date: November 2012
• Source: Columbia University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial 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.

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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 29
• Est. completion date: August 2008
• Est. primary completion date: January 2005
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Medical students, years 1 through 4 are eligible.

• No prior clinical experience with laparoscopic surgery as the assistant surgeon.

• No prior simulation training (mechanical, PC-based or otherwise).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Persons who are not medical students.

• Medical students with prior clinical experience with laparoscopic surgery as the assistant surgeon.

• Medical students with prior simulation training (mechanical, PC-based or otherwise).

Study Design

Allocation: Non-Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment, Masking: Open Label

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Education

Intervention

Other:
• LapSim training
complete curriculum training on LapSim surgical simulator

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons	New York	New York

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Columbia University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Establish learning curve for each of seven tasks on the simulator.	For each of the module seven modules, the computer automatically measures set parameters. Each measured parameter that is recorded in the simulator will be used in data analysis.	6 months	No
Secondary	Establish test-retest reliability for each of seven tasks on the simulator.		6 months	No