Brain and Spine (Jan 2024)

Simulation to become a better neurosurgeon. An international prospective controlled trial: The Passion study

  • Claudia Fanizzi,
  • Giovanni Carone,
  • Alessandra Rocca,
  • Roberta Ayadi,
  • Veronika Petrenko,
  • Cecilia Casali,
  • Martina Rani,
  • Marta Giachino,
  • Lydia Viviana Falsitta,
  • Enrico Gambatesa,
  • Tommaso Francesco Galbiati,
  • Eleonora Francesca Orena,
  • Irene Tramacere,
  • Nicole Irene Riker,
  • Alessandro Mocca,
  • Karl Schaller,
  • Torstein Ragnar Meling,
  • Francesco DiMeco,
  • Alessandro Perin,
  • Abdelaziz Najib,
  • Adrian Ndroqi,
  • Ana Tomas-Biosca,
  • Anatoli Dimitrov,
  • Antanas Budenas,
  • Augustinas Fedaravicius,
  • Aicha Ouchene,
  • Dauleac Corentin,
  • Djenaba Bah,
  • Friedrich Erhart,
  • Fahrudin Alić,
  • Foughali Mehdi,
  • Hajar Bechri,
  • Jagoš Golubović,
  • Julien Delaunois,
  • Angela Rampini,
  • Karolis Simaitis,
  • Milan Lepic,
  • Mirel Grada,
  • Miroslav Fimic,
  • Mohamed Amgad Elsayed Matter,
  • Benachour Mohamed Safouane,
  • Nebojsa Lasica,
  • Olga Parras,
  • Ran Xu,
  • Demaerel Rik,
  • Sandra Rutkowska,
  • Margherita Castaldo,
  • Tatyana Sarnecki,
  • Angela Elia,
  • Tobias Rossmann,
  • Volodymyr Smolanka,
  • Fatima Fakhro,
  • Yinqian Wang,
  • Yakun Yang,
  • Hu Yeshuai,
  • Bianca Baldassarre,
  • Giuseppe Di Perna,
  • Lei Qi,
  • Ye Zhongxing,
  • Alice Lucifero,
  • Yuhao Zhao,
  • Vittoria Cojazzi,
  • Gianluca Mezzini,
  • Bektaşoğlu Pınar Kuru,
  • Marina Minichiello,
  • Wenping Xiong,
  • Yan Cui,
  • Zhigang Tan,
  • Yue Lu,
  • Li Xu,
  • Deng Gang,
  • Xiaoyang Tao,
  • Norbert Svoboda,
  • Shiqiang Wang,
  • Zhijie Zhoul,
  • Chang Tao,
  • Antonio D'Ammando,
  • Fabio Grassia,
  • Dong Wang,
  • Jidong Sun,
  • Yanwei Chen,
  • Zongdang Wei,
  • Andrew Stevens,
  • Niko Njiric,
  • Marco Cancedda,
  • Ahmet Faruk Özdemir,
  • Burak Tahmazoglu,
  • Edoardo Porto,
  • Namer Thana,
  • Aqsa Adil,
  • Francesco Crisà

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4
p. 102829

Abstract

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Introduction: Surgical training traditionally adheres to the apprenticeship paradigm, potentially exposing trainees to an increased risk of complications stemming from their limited experience. To mitigate this risk, augmented and virtual reality have been considered, though their effectiveness is difficult to assess. Research question: The PASSION study seeks to investigate the improvement of manual dexterity following intensive training with neurosurgical simulators and to discern how surgeons' psychometric characteristics may influence their learning process and surgical performance. Material and methods: Seventy-two residents were randomized into the simulation group (SG) and control group (CG). The course spanned five days, commencing with assessment of technical skills in basic procedures within a wet-lab setting on day 1. Over the subsequent core days, the SG engaged in simulated procedures, while the CG carried out routine activities in an OR. On day 5, all residents' technical competencies were evaluated. Psychometric measures of all participants were subjected to analysis. Results: The SG demonstrated superior performance (p < 0.0001) in the brain tumour removal compared to the CG. Positive learning curves were evident in the SG across the three days of simulator-based training for all tumour removal tasks (all p-values <0.05). No significant differences were noted in other tasks, and no meaningful correlations were observed between performance and any psychometric parameters. Discussion and conclusion: A brief and intensive training regimen utilizing 3D virtual reality simulators enhances residents' microsurgical proficiency in brain tumour removal models. Simulators emerge as a viable tool to expedite the learning curve of in-training neurosurgeons.

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