Characterizing the Untapped Potential of Virtual Reality in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgical Training: A Systematic Review on Skill Transferability

Abstract Objective Temporal bone dissection is a difficult skill to acquire, and the challenge has recently been further compounded by a reduction in conventional surgical training opportunities during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Consequently, there has been renewed interest in ear simulation as an adjunct to surgical training for trainees. We review the state-of-the-art virtual temporal bone simulators for surgical training. Materials and methods A narrative review of the current literature was performed following a Medline search using a pre-determined search strategy. Results and analysis Sixty-one studies were included. There are five validated temporal bone simulators: Voxel-Man, CardinalSim, Ohio State University Simulator, Melbourne University's Virtual Reality Surgical Simulation and Visible Ear Simulator. The merits of each have been reviewed, alongside their role in surgical training. Conclusion Temporal bone simulators have been demonstrated to be useful adjuncts to conventional surgical training methods and are likely to play an increasing role in the future.

Virtual Temporal Bone Simulators and Their Use in Surgical Training: A Narrative Review.

The maintenance process of aviation aircraft is a complex and high-risk task. This article aims to design an aviation aircraft maintenance training platform based on Virtual Reality (VR) technology to improve the training efficiency and quality of aviation aircraft maintenance personnel. By analyzing the maintenance process of aviation aircraft and combining VR technology, an interactive training platform is designed that can simulate real maintenance scenarios and provide a comprehensive training experience. The research results indicate that in terms of operational efficiency, the on time completion rate of maintenance implementation for aviation aircraft maintenance training platforms designed using VR technology has increased from 79% before optimization to 94%. The aviation aircraft maintenance training platform based on VR technology has high effectiveness and practicality, which can effectively improve the training efficiency and quality of aviation aircraft maintenance personnel. 

Design and Development of Aviation Aircraft Maintenance Training Platform Based on VR Technology

Background Technological innovation is reshaping the landscape of medical education, bringing revolutionary changes to traditional teaching methods. In this context, the upgrade of the teaching model for microscopy, as one of the core skills in medical education, is particularly important. Proficiency in microscope operation not only affects medical students’ pathology diagnosis abilities but also directly impacts the precision of surgical procedures and laboratory analysis skills. However, current microscopy pedagogy faces dual challenges: on one hand, traditional teaching lacks real-time image sharing capabilities, severely limiting the effectiveness of immediate instructor guidance; on the other hand, students find it difficult to independently identify technical flaws in their operations, leading to inefficient skill acquisition. Although whole-slide imaging-based microscopy system technology has partially addressed the issue of image visualization, it cannot replicate the tactile feedback and physical interaction experience of the real world. The breakthrough development of 5G communication technology—with its ultrahigh transmission speed and ultralow latency—provides an innovative solution to this teaching challenge. Leveraging this technological advantage, Tongji University’s biology laboratory has pioneered the deployment of a 5G local area network (LAN)–supported digital interactive microscopy system, creating a new model for microscopy education. Objective This study aims to investigate the efficacy of an innovative 5G LAN-powered interactive digital microscopy system in enhancing microscopy training efficiency, evaluated through medical students’ academic performance and learning experience. Methods Using a quasi-experimental design, we quantify system effectiveness via academic performance metrics and learning experience dimensions. A total of 39 students enrolled in the biology course were randomly assigned to 2 groups: one using traditional optical microscopes (control) and the other using the digital microscopy interactive system (DMIS). Their academic performance was evaluated through a knowledge test and 3 laboratory reports. A 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire was used to gather feedback on students’ learning experiences. In addition, the DMIS group was required to evaluate the specific functions of the system. Results In the knowledge test, no statistical difference was found between the 2 groups; however, the DMIS group scored significantly higher in Lecture 2 (P<.05). In the laboratory reports, the DMIS group performed significantly better than the control group (mean 90.33, SD 2.63 vs mean 80.53, SD 3.52, P<.001). Questionnaire results indicated that the DMIS group has a positive evaluation of the system and expressed greater confidence in its future application. For the evaluation of the laboratory lectures, the DMIS group received higher evaluations on the course content and self-efficacy (P<.05), and higher satisfaction with the laboratory lectures (P<.05). Conclusions Overall, the digital microscope interactive system enhances students’ learning experiences and improves their academic performance. It offers various interactive functions to facilitate the organization of teaching activities and promote immediate feedback in the classroom. Thus, it is a promising tool for microscopy laboratory teaching.

Effectiveness of A 5G LAN-based Digital Microscopy Interactive System: a quasi-experimental design (Preprint)

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to overall interrupted medical care, resulting in disease progression and morbidity. The study aimed to evaluate clinicopathological presentations and severity of eyelid malignancy during the COVID era, comparing the results with patients presented during pre-COVID era and evaluating the reasons for delayed presentation in patients with advanced eyelid malignancy in the COVID-era. Methods: This was a comparative, ambispective observational study. Data regarding demographic, clinical, histopathology, and treatment modalities of confirmed cases of eyelid malignancy admitted during the period from March 2020 to September 2022 (defined as COVID era group) were collected and compared with retrospectively collected data from March 2017 to March 2020 (defined as pre-COVID era group). COVID era patients were further categorized as localized and advanced disease. Patients with advanced eyelid malignancy during COVID era were further subjected to a questionnaire to evaluate the reasons for delayed presentation. Results: In total, 115 patients of eyelid malignancy were studied [COVID era group 40 (35%) and pre-COVID era group 75 (65%)]. A statistically significant increase in the duration of disease ( P = 0.0001) and advanced tumor T-stage ( P = 0.03) was noticed in the COVID era group. Demographic, histopathology, and ocular morbidity details were similar in both groups. The common reasons that led to delay in presentation and treatment in advanced T-stage patients during the COVID era were fear of acquiring COVID, lockdown, and lack of medical facilities. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, both hospital- and patient-related factors contributed to delay in presentation, leading to advanced-stage disease indicating need of triaging of eyelid malignancy in the event of such pandemics in future. 

Clinicopathological presentations of eyelid malignancy in COVID era versus pre-COVID era

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nonurgent surgeries were delayed to preserve capacity for patients admitted with COVID-19; surgeons were challenged personally and professionally during this time. We aimed to describe the impact of delays to nonurgent surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic from the surgeons’ perspective in Alberta. Methods: We conducted an interpretive description qualitative study in Alberta from January to March 2022. We recruited adult and pediatric surgeons via social media and through personal contacts from our research network. Semistructured interviews were conducted via Zoom, and we analyzed the data via inductive thematic analysis to identify relevant themes and subthemes related to the impact of delaying nonurgent surgery on surgeons and their provision of surgical care. Results: We conducted 12 interviews with 9 adult surgeons and 3 pediatric surgeons. Six themes were identified: accelerator for a surgical care crisis, health system inequity, system-level management of disruptions in surgical services, professional and interprofessional impact, personal impact, and pragmatic adaptation to health system strain. Participants also identified strategies to mitigate the challenges experienced due to nonurgent surgical delays during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., additional operating time, surgical process reviews to reduce inefficiencies, and advocacy for sustained funding of hospital beds, human resources and community-based postoperative care). Interpretation: Our study describes the impacts and challenges experienced by adult and pediatric surgeons of delayed nonurgent surgeries because of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Surgeons identified potential health system–, hospital- and physician-level strategies to minimize future impacts on patients from delays of nonurgent surgery.

/pdf/the-impact-of-delayed-nonurgent-surgery-during-the-covid-19-1r2samvg.pdf

The impact of delayed nonurgent surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic on surgeons in Alberta: a qualitative interview study

PURPOSE
To evaluate the association of primary tumor volume (TV) with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in T3 N0-3M0 supraglottic cancers treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).


METHODS
This was a retrospective cohort study involving 239 patients diagnosed with T3 N0-3M0 supraglottic cancers between 2002 and 2018 from seven regional cancer centers in Canada. Clinical data were obtained from the patient records. Supraglottic TV was measured by neuroradiologists on diagnostic imaging. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival probabilities, and a restricted cubic spline Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to analyze TV associations with OS and DFS.


RESULTS
Mean (SD) of participants was 65.2 (9.4) years; 176 (73.6%) participants were male. 90 (38%) were N0, and 151 (64%) received concurrent systemic therapy. Mean TV (SD) was 11.37 (12.11) cm3 . With mean follow up (SD) of 3.28 (2.60) years, 2-year OS was 72.7% (95% CI 66.9%-78.9%) and DFS was 53.6% (47.4%-60.6%). Increasing TV was associated (per cm3 increase) with worse OS (HR, 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.02, p < 0.01) and DFS (HR, 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.02, p = 0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
Increasing primary tumor volume is associated with worse OS and DFS in T3 supraglottic cancers treated with IMRT, with no clear threshold. The findings suggest that patients with larger tumors and poor baseline laryngeal function may benefit from upfront laryngectomy with adjuvant radiotherapy.

Tumor volumes in T3 supraglottic cancers treated with radiotherapy in the modern era: A study of the Canadian Head & Neck Collaborative Research Initiative.

Virtual reality (VR) simulation has the potential to advance surgical education, procedural planning, and intraoperative guidance. "SurgiSim" is a VR platform developed for the rehearsal of complex procedures using patient-specific anatomy, high-fidelity stereoscopic graphics, and haptic feedback. SurgiSim is the first VR simulator to include a virtual operating room microscope. We describe the process of designing and refining the VR microscope user experience (UX) and user interaction (UI) to optimize surgical rehearsal and education.Human-centered VR design principles were applied in the design of the SurgiSim microscope to optimize the user's sense of presence. Throughout the UX's development, the team of developers met regularly with surgeons to gather end-user feedback. Supplemental testing was performed on four participants.Through observation and participant feedback, we made iterative design upgrades to the SurgiSim platform. We identified the following key characteristics of the VR microscope UI: overall appearance, hand controller interface, and microscope movement.Our design process identified challenges arising from the disparity between VR and physical environments that pertain to microscope education and deployment. These roadblocks were addressed using creative solutions. Future studies will investigate the efficacy of VR surgical microscope training on real-world microscope skills as assessed by validated performance metrics. 

/pdf/the-user-experience-design-of-a-novel-microscope-within-2la8rkf9.pdf

The user experience design of a novel microscope within SurgiSim, a virtual reality surgical simulator

The Effect of Preoperative Anemia on Blood Transfusion Outcomes in Major Head and Neck Cancer Surgery

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Joseph Dort

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

The impact of delayed nonurgent surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic on surgeons in Alberta: a qualitative interview study

Tumor volumes in T3 supraglottic cancers treated with radiotherapy in the modern era: A study of the Canadian Head & Neck Collaborative Research Initiative.

The user experience design of a novel microscope within SurgiSim, a virtual reality surgical simulator

The Effect of Preoperative Anemia on Blood Transfusion Outcomes in Major Head and Neck Cancer Surgery