Construct validity testing of a laparoscopic surgical simulator.

Background: We present initial data on the construct, content, and face validity of the LAPMentor (Simbionix), virtual reality laparoscopic surgical simulator.

Study Design: Medical students (MS), residents and fellows (R/F), and experienced laparoscopic surgeons (ES), with < 30 laparoscopic cases per year (ES<30) and those with > 30 laparoscopic cases per year (ES>30), were tested on 9 basic skill tasks (SK) including manipulation of 0-degree and 30-degree cameras (SK1, SK2), eye-hand coordination (SK3), clipping (SK4), grasping and clipping (SK5), two-handed maneuvers (SK6), cutting (SK7), fulguration (SK8), and object-translocation (SK9).

Results: Mean MS (n=23), R/F (n=24), ES<30 (n=26), and ES>30 (n=30) ages were 26 years (range 21 to 32 years), 31 years (range 27 to 39 years), 49 years (range 31 to 70 years) and 47 years (range 34 to 69 years), respectively.