Construction and Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Laparoscopic Surgery Collaborative Training Platform: Taking Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy as an Example

Abstract

Backgroud: Virtual reality (VR) technology represents the future of medical education due to its unique advantages, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic lasting. We developed a laparoscopic VR surgery collaborative training platform hoping to shed light on future medical education in China.Methods: We constructed a VR surgery training platform and designed surgery curriculum on laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). 36 first-year postgraduate students in China standardized training program for resident doctor (C-STRD) from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were enrolled for validation trials. In the Phase I trial, 12 students performed LC in the exploration mode. After training in the surgery learning mode, they performed LC again. The LC scores before and after training were compared. In the Phase II trial, another 12 students were randomly assigned to either the collaborative group or the control group. The former trained with a senior surgeon collaboratively in the surgery learning mode and then performed LC alone in the exploration mode. The latter trained in the surgery learning mode by themselves and performed LC in the exploration mode. The LC scores between groups were compared. The user experience (intention to use, skills improvement, usability, degree of enjoyment) were analyzed through questionnaires from the above 24 students. Interest in surgery learning of Phase I students was compared with 12 students who didn’t experience the VR platform.Results: In Phase I trial, the mean LC scores of the students were elevated from 56.83 to 61.17 (p=0.042) after learning in surgery learning mode. In Phase II trial, collaborative group students had higher scores than their rivals (67.17 vs 61.33, p=0.014). Most students have a positive users’ experience regarding the intention to use and skills improvement. Collaborative group students had higher evaluation regarding usability. Students who experienced the VR platform were significantly more interested in future surgery learning (3.60 vs 2.58, p <0.05).Conclusion: Our study constructed a VR platform for collaborative surgery training, which showed an excellent training effect. Medical students rated the platform highly, and their interest in learning increased.