Abstract
Abstract Introduction Virtual Reality (VR) technology has existed for decades; however, the fidelity of current applications has resulted in limited adoption in surgical training and no framework exists to assess usability of VR in surgery. This study aimed to define immersion quality and identify which metrics surgical trainees and trainers prioritise when utilising VR. Method Surgical trainees and trainers were eligible for inclusion. Participants were purposively sampled from delegates at the RCS England Future Surgery Show 2023. A 14-point questionnaire generated through steering-group expert consensus was utilised. Immersion was measured using the NASA Fidelity Rating Scale (1;excellent–6;very bad) and a usability importance metric (1;extremely important–5;not important). Parametric statistical tests were used following test of normality (µ=0.05). Results 34(23M:10F) responses were analysed. 50%(n=17) were completing or had completed surgical training with experience across 8 different VR systems. 18%(n=6) had experienced side-effects. Mean immersion across the systems was 2.7±0.8(Good/Fair). ‘Ease of Use’(1.4±0.6) and ‘Translatable Training’(1.4±0.5) were the highest priority usability metrics with ‘Access’(1.9±0.8), ‘User Comfort’(1.6±0.6) and improvement in ‘Economy of Movement’(1.9±0.7) also regarded as Extremely important or Important. There was an observed difference in ‘User Comfort’ importance between Male(1.6±0.4) and Female(1.1±0.2) participants which approached significance(p=0.07). Conclusions Immersion of available VR surgical training platforms requires improvement. Side-effects remain common. Ease of use and translatable training are the highest priority metrics for end-users and should be central to any framework. Gender differences in VR usability requires further investigation.
Published Version
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