Incorporating Touch-Screen Technology into Minimal-Access Simulation

Abstract

Introduction:

A novel technique for utilizing touch-screen games in minimal-access simulation. The use of simulation for the acquisition of minimal access skills has been well documented. ^{1 –3} Current simulators have a limited number of tasks to perform, however, which can become boring and repetitive over time. The computer gaming industry has a great deal of experience in creating tasks that hold the user's interest and provide significant scalability of task difficulty. We therefore explored the idea of exploiting the billions of dollars already invested by the gaming industry, to create compelling and useful laparoscopic simulation tasks.

Materials and Methods:

1× laparoscopic simulator; 2× laparoscopic stylus; 1× touch-screen device with games preloaded.

Description of Video:

00.04 Current Simulation tasks; 00.43 Demonstration of capacitive touch; 01.27 Making the capacitive touch instruments; 02.02 Playing Fruit Ninja; 03.00 Playing Angry Birds; 03.51 Typing an email.

Results:

The resulting model can be used to interact with a touch-screen device.

Discussion:

Regular practice is an important factor in acquiring the technical ability to perform minimal access surgery. Many expensive virtual reality (VR) simulators include a game to teach basic instrument manipulation. It is our belief that using a laparoscopic stylus with a touch-screen device placed within a simple box simulator would encourage the increased use of surgical simulation by trainee surgeons. By utilizing existing touch-screen device games, an addictive format through which to practice basic skills is provided, at a fraction of the cost of current VR equipment.

Iain Hennessey: Has produced educational material for the eoSim simulator (featured in video); Roland Partridge, Paul Brennan and Mark Hughes run eoSurgical ltd (producers of the Laparoscopic Stylus and eoSim simulator featured in video)

Runtime of video: 3 mins 47 secs