Construct validity of the LapSim virtual laparoscopic simulator within a urology residency program

Abstract

Objective: We assessed the construct validity of the LapSim laparoscopic surgical simulator in a urology residency training program. Methods: In total, 15 residents participated in the study between July 2007 and July 2008. The subjects were tested six times at onemonth intervals on three skill tasks (lifting and grasping, cutting and clip application) using the LapSim laparoscopic simulator. The testing sessions were divided into the first three sessions (seminar 1), and the subsequent three sessions (seminar 2). We evaluated the following parameters: total time, path length, angular path length, tissue damage, maximum damage and stretch damage. The subjects were divided into junior (PGY 1,2) and senior resident groups (PGY 3,4,5). The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test for paired samples was used to compare the performances of the juniors and seniors during seminar 1 to their performance in seminar 2 to determine whether there was improvement over time. The Wilcoxon RankSum test for independent samples was used to compare the performance of the juniors to that of the seniors for seminar 1, seminar 2 and the combination of both seminars to determine whether the more experienced senior residents performed better than the less experienced juniors. Results: No significant performance improvement between testing sessions could be demonstrated. Similarly, there was no significant difference in performance between junior and senior residents. Conclusions: Construct validity could not be demonstrated for the total time, path length, angular path length and tissue handling parameters of the LapSim laparoscopic surgical simulator when examined within the context of a urology residency program.

Thiel Embalming Method for Cadaver Preservation: A Review of New Training Model for Urologic Skills Training

“…13 Recently construct validity has been demonstrated in a variety of synthetic urologic simulators including novel robotic 14 and virtual reality 15 surgical simulators. Construct validity of fresh frozen cadavers however has only recently become established as a training tool in minimal access surgery.…”

“…13 Recently construct validity has been demonstrated in a variety of synthetic urologic simulators including novel…”

Transfer of skills on LapSim virtual reality laparoscopic simulator into the operating room in urology

“…This is the first study to examine the predictive validity of the LapSim in urology. In a recently published article,[ 11 ] we failed to demonstrate the construct validity of the LapSim in urology training, while we did previously demonstrate the construct validity of another simulator ProMIS (Haptica, Ireland) in urology training. [ 12 ] This is important because these simulators are expensive, and it is of paramount importance to identify the proper simulator that can benefit the training program by improving the resident's surgical skills prior to applying them on humans.…”

Face, content, and construct validity of the EndoViS training system for objective assessment of psychomotor skills of laparoscopic surgeons

“…In general, several authors have evaluated and validated these training systems to ensure its effectiveness and usefulness using different tasks and protocols [19,[26][27][28][29].…”

“…Oropesa I et al [25] present another proposal in EVA, a tracking system that registers the 3D coordinates of the instruments based on the monoscopic image of the endoscope for assessment of skills. In general, several authors have evaluated and validated these training systems to ensure its effectiveness and usefulness using different tasks and protocols [19,[26][27][28][29].…”