Neurosurgical tactile discrimination training with haptic-based virtual reality simulation.

Objective: To determine if a computer-based simulation with haptic technology can help surgical trainees improve tactile discrimination using surgical instruments.

Material And Methods: Twenty junior medical students participated in the study and were randomized into two groups. Subjects in Group A participated in virtual simulation training using the ImmersiveTouch simulator (ImmersiveTouch, Inc.

Sensory and motor skill testing in neurosurgery applicants: a pilot study using a virtual reality haptic neurosurgical simulator.

Background: Manual skill is important for surgeons, but current methods to evaluate sensory-motor skills in applicants to a surgical residency are limited.

Objective: To develop a method of testing sensory-motor skill using objective and reproducible virtual reality simulation.

Methods: We designed a set of tests on a 3-dimensional surgical simulator with head and arm tracking, colocalization, and haptic feedback: (1) "trajectory planning in a simulated vertebra," ie, 3-dimensional memory and orientation; "hemostasis in the brain," ie, motor planning, sequence, timing, and precision; and "choose the softest object," ie, haptic perception.