Improving residency training in arthroscopic knee surgery with use of a virtual-reality simulator. A randomized blinded study.

Background: There is a paucity of articles in the surgical literature demonstrating transfer validity (transfer of training). The purpose of this study was to assess whether skills learned on the ArthroSim virtual-reality arthroscopic knee simulator transferred to greater skill levels in the operating room.

Methods: Postgraduate year-3 orthopaedic residents were randomized into simulator-trained and control groups at seven academic institutions.

Virtual reality in orthopaedics: is it a reality?

Background: Virtual reality (VR) simulation has been a requirement for airline and military pilots for decades and is only now being integrated into surgical training programs. Thus far, orthopaedic training programs have been slow to adopt VR training.

Questions/purposes: We therefore asked (1) how VR has worked for other surgical specialties; (2) what VR solutions are available for orthopaedics; and (3) should VR simulation become part of the orthopaedic curriculum?

Methods: An informal literature review was performed, searching for orthopaedically-oriented VR surgical simulators and comparing this to the number of programs available for general surgery teaching programs.

Variability of landmark identification in total knee arthroplasty.

Virtual reality is new technology that is finding application in many facets of orthopaedics. We will describe an application of virtual reality in orthopaedic research. Component placement in total knee arthroplasty depends on identification of anatomic landmarks about the knee.