Abstract
Purpose:
Validate a haptic-enabled virtual reality simulator for the capsulorhexis portion of cataract surgery.
Methods:
The MicroVis simulator (Immersive Touch, Chicago, IL) was developed to for cataract surgery virtual reality training. Modules assessing hand-eye coordination as well as simulation of capsulorhexis were completed by 29 Ophthalmology residents in Maryland, USA (14 male, 15 female), 49 ophthalmology residents in Riyadh Saudi Arabia (37 male, 12 female) and 8 US Ophthalmology faculty (3 male, 5 female). Circularity, accuracy and fluency of the capsulorhexis creation as well as dexterity were measured.
Results:
US male residents performed better than female residents in terms of overall score for capsulorhexis (p=0.049). Saudi female residents performed slightly better than male in terms of overall score (p=0.12). There was no noticeable difference in overall score among US PGY 2, 3 and 4 residents. Saudi PGY2 residents did slightly better than PGY3 and PGY4 residents. US residents performed better than Saudi residents in all categories with the exception of fluency. The best overall score was obtained by a faculty member.
Conclusions:
Virtual reality simulation can be a method for training and assessment in cataract surgery. Regional differences in surgical education may affect baseline scores. Concurrent validation is required by correlating surgical performance with simulator performance as well as the impact of repeated simulator use on surgical skill remain to be studied.