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Video Games in the OR
Reported July 11, 2008
PHOENIX (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The latest wave of video game
technology is doing much more than keeping teenagers entertained … it's
preparing doctors for the operating room. Ivanhoe explains how the Nintendo
Wii is working wonders for surgeons.
Jeff Henke, M.D., a surgical resident at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in
Phoenix, is playing games in hopes of becoming a better surgeon.
The control sticks on the Wii he uses are actually probes … the same kind
he'll use in the operating room.
"This does really help," Dr. Henke told Ivanhoe. "It kind of coordinates
your hand movements; gets you prepared to go into the operating room and
perform laparoscopic surgery."
Doctors had to make a few adjustments to turn the Wii accessories into
surgical tools. Using cyber gloves to record and measure hand movements,
bioinformatics expert Kanav Kahol, Ph.D. made a discovery … the coordination
used to play the games is similar to what's needed in laparoscopic or
minimally invasive surgery.
Simulators that train doctors for surgery often cost hundreds of thousands
of dollars, but a pilot study at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital found
playing the specially adapted Wii improved resident's skills by 50-percent.
"This gives us a much less costly way to train on fine motor skills that
surgeons employ in surgery," Mark Smith, M.D., co-developer and a
gynecological surgeon at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital, explained to
Ivanhoe. Dr. Smith says the Wii has taken training to a whole new level.
"They develop an increased efficiency, less errors, more fluid movement;
they're just better," he said. Dr. Henke knows there's no restart button in
real surgery, but for now he's sharpening his skills one game at a time.
Researchers say these computer games could give surgeons a way to improve
their skills at home, and could even provide surgeons in third world
countries a less expensive way to become more proficient.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Mark Smith, MD
Banner Good Samaritan Hospital
Phoenix, AZ
(602) 239-6507
Mark.Smith@bannerhealth.com |
