Advancing Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery Training with Objective Assessment and Simulation
Orthopedic surgeons are trained through an apprentice model, practicing on live patients under the guidance of more experienced surgeons. The first few attempts with a new surgeon and a new procedure often involve an orientation phase in which the new surgeon exhibits disorganized behaviors as they seek to understand how the tools and tissues interact to accomplish their surgical goal. For nearly a decade a team at the University of Iowa has been developing a series of mixed-reality simulators and assessment tools to help new surgeons develop and train the skills they need before working with their first patient. The simulators have been used by hundreds of surgeons training in the United States and Europe. Our research currently focuses on defining more precise, objective measures of surgical performance and quantifying the improvement in the operating room performance gained from the simulator training. The new methods emphasize the geometric positioning of implants relative to the bone geometry and the subtle movements and choices a surgeon makes when placing the implants. Rather than emphasizing broad techniques that range easily across a wide range of surgeries, our approach emphasizing delving deeply into the specific surgical goals of each procedure and defining exactly what the surgeon needs to accomplish, which then guides the simulator design. This talk will cover the details of the patented, mixed-reality simulator technology, an overview of the assessment techniques, and the benefits of simulator training.
