Head-to-Head Comparison of Three Virtual-Reality Robotic Surgery Simulators.

Background And Objectives: There are several different commercially available virtual-reality robotic simulators, but very little comparative data. We compared the face and content validity of 3 robotic surgery simulators and their pricing and availability.

Methods: Fifteen participants completed one task on each of the following: dV-Trainer (dVT; Mimic Technologies, Inc., Seattle, Washington, USA), da Vinci Skills Simulator (dVSS; Intuitive Surgical Inc., Sunnyvale, California, USA), and RobotiX Mentor (RM; 3D Systems, Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA). Participants completed previously validated face and content validity questionnaires and a demographics questionnaire. Statistical analysis was then performed on the scores.

Results: Participants had a mean age of 29.6 (range, 25-41) years. Most were surgical trainees, having performed a mean of 8.6 robotic primary surgeries. For face validity, ANOVA showed a significant difference favoring the dVSS over the dVT ( = .001), and no significant difference between the RM, dVSS, and dVT. Content validity revealed similar results, with a significant difference between the dVSS and dVT ( = .021), a trend toward a difference between the RM and dVT ( = .092), and no difference between the dVSS and RM ( = .99).

Conclusion: All simulators demonstrated evidence of face and content validity, with significantly higher scores for the dVSS; it is also the least costly ($80,000 for the simulator), although it is frequently unavailable because of intra-operative use. The dVT and RM have similar face and content validity, are slightly more expensive, and are readily available.