Virtual arthroscopy training: do the "virtual skills" developed match the real skills required?

The purpose of the study is to validate the training efficacy of the PC-based Sheffield Knee Arthroscopy Training System (SKATS, as described in MMVR6). Based on a task analysis of real arthroscopy, an evaluation module has been designed to test the core psycho-motor skills used in arthroscopy. The evaluation simulates a joint inspection and triangulation task, which is used to assess the research hypothesis that experienced arthroscopists will perform significantly better on the virtual arthroscopy simulator, than a trainee arthroscopist group and a control group. A group of experienced arthroscopic knee surgeons, a trainee surgeon group and a control group were tested on the simulator. The preliminary results indicate that experienced surgeons performed best with fewer instrument collisions and faster task-completion times. The results indicate that the core skills of arthroscopy used on the SKATS simulator are similar to those used in real arthroscopy. Further validation work is required to assess the training transfer effects. Once the simulator has been validated fully, it may prove beneficial in minimising patient risk.