The Ultimate "Halo" Effect

  • by: |
  • 01/18/2008
A US study by the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona has found surgical residents performed better during simulated surgery after playing on the Wii for an hour beforehand.

"The whole point about surgery is to execute small, finely controlled movements with your hands, and that is exactly what you get playing Wii," Kanav Kahol, who conducted the study with colleague Marshall Smith, told New Scientist magazine.

Professor John Quin, executive director of surgical affairs at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, said the study was interesting and showed promise, but it was still not clear whether better performance in simulated surgery translated into better performance in surgery on a live patient.

"What it shows at the moment is only that if you repeatedly play video games you get better at playing video games," he said, adding the RACS was conducting a Federal Government-aided study to determine the effectiveness of simulated surgery.

Professor Quin said he hoped high-tech tools like the Wii and simulated surgery proved useful because "it's getting more and more difficult to train the full experience of the surgical operation".

The study found only those games requiring precise movements, like Marble Mania in which a player guides a marble through a 3D obstacle course using the Wii's motion-sensitive remote, are effective.

"You don't gain a lot from swinging an imaginary tennis racket," Kahol said.

Past research by other academics has similarly found video games requiring fine control can help build the skills surgeons need for operations like keyhole surgery.

Kahol and Smith are now reportedly designing Wii software to accurately simulate surgical procedures. For developing countries unable to provide expensive professional training systems, the Wii could be used as a cheap and effective training tool.

In conducting their study, the pair called on eight trainee doctors to play the Wii for an hour before performing virtual surgery using a tool called ProMIS. The training tool provides a 3D simulation of a patient's body and tracks the surgeon's movements while they are "operating".

Movement data was then processed using an algorithm and the surgeons were given scores. Those who played the Wii scored 48 per cent higher on tool control and performance than those who didn't.
CMPI

Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.

Blog Roll

Alliance for Patient Access Alternative Health Practice
AHRP
Better Health
BigGovHealth
Biotech Blog
BrandweekNRX
CA Medicine man
Cafe Pharma
Campaign for Modern Medicines
Carlat Psychiatry Blog
Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry: A Closer Look
Conservative's Forum
Club For Growth
CNEhealth.org
Diabetes Mine
Disruptive Women
Doctors For Patient Care
Dr. Gov
Drug Channels
DTC Perspectives
eDrugSearch
Envisioning 2.0
EyeOnFDA
FDA Law Blog
Fierce Pharma
fightingdiseases.org
Fresh Air Fund
Furious Seasons
Gooznews
Gel Health News
Hands Off My Health
Health Business Blog
Health Care BS
Health Care for All
Healthy Skepticism
Hooked: Ethics, Medicine, and Pharma
Hugh Hewitt
IgniteBlog
In the Pipeline
In Vivo
Instapundit
Internet Drug News
Jaz'd Healthcare
Jaz'd Pharmaceutical Industry
Jim Edwards' NRx
Kaus Files
KevinMD
Laffer Health Care Report
Little Green Footballs
Med Buzz
Media Research Center
Medrants
More than Medicine
National Review
Neuroethics & Law
Newsbusters
Nurses For Reform
Nurses For Reform Blog
Opinion Journal
Orange Book
PAL
Peter Rost
Pharm Aid
Pharma Blog Review
Pharma Blogsphere
Pharma Marketing Blog
Pharmablogger
Pharmacology Corner
Pharmagossip
Pharmamotion
Pharmalot
Pharmaceutical Business Review
Piper Report
Polipundit
Powerline
Prescription for a Cure
Public Plan Facts
Quackwatch
Real Clear Politics
Remedyhealthcare
Shark Report
Shearlings Got Plowed
StateHouseCall.org
Taking Back America
Terra Sigillata
The Cycle
The Catalyst
The Lonely Conservative
TortsProf
Town Hall
Washington Monthly
World of DTC Marketing
WSJ Health Blog