K. Oh1, A. Esposito1, N. L. Owen-Simon1, S. Dachert1, J. Kaplan1, A. Kamenko1, S. Shipman1, J. Rehrig1, K. Walters1, K. Ray1, E. Buchanan1, A. Reese1, A. Harbin1, B. Waldorf1, D. Eun1 1Temple University School Of Medicine,Department Of Urology,Philadelphia, PA, USA
Introduction: As robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) is adopted across a variety of surgical fields, the question of which skill sets predict RAS proficiency is increasingly relevant. We investigate the relationship between video game proficiency and surgical robot proficiency.
Methods: 116 undergraduate and pre-clinical medical students took a diagnostic exam on the Nintendo Wii system, completing three attempts of five levels of “Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz”. Composite scores were calculated based on task completion and time to completion. Subjects then performed 5 attempts each of peg transfer, pattern cutting, and running suture on the Da Vinci Xi Surgical Robot (Da Vinci). Time to completion and accuracy of tasks were recorded. Participants with prior experience in either video game or Da Vinci were excluded.
Results: Preliminary results from 27 subjects are described. The distribution of video game final scores ranged from 681.42 to 11016.43 with a mean of 4553.38 (SD=2885.7). On Da Vinci, timed tasks included peg transfer (mean= 2:10.7 min, SD = 40.6 sec), precision cutting (mean= 3:20.56 min, SD = 73.2 sec), and running suture (mean= 5:51.9 min, SD = 60.0 sec).
Correlations were calculated across trials controlling for random intercepts by participant. A significant inverse relationship existed between final composite video game score and time to completion of running suture, r =-.33, p < 0.01. A similar trend occurred in the remaining timed tasks, precision cutting and peg transfer, with trends approaching significance at r = -.23, p = 0.08 and r = -.23, p = 0.085.
Conclusion: Video game skill and RAS skill have a significant correlation. This study is the largest prospective study to date investigating skills predicting RAS performance. As use of RAS is increasingly prominent, it is essential to identify skill sets predictive of proficiency on this platform to develop future surgical teaching strategies and education curricula.