Validation of a Novel Cognitive Simulator for Orbital Floor Reconstruction

Publication date: Available online 11 December 2016
Source:Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Author(s): Renata Khelemsky, Brianna Hill, Daniel Buchbinder
PurposeThe increasing focus on patient safety in current medical practice has promoted the development of surgical simulation technology in the form of virtual reality (VR) training designed largely to improve technical skills, and less so, non-technical aspects of surgery such as decision-making and material knowledge. The present study investigates the validity of a novel cognitive VR simulator called Touch Surgery ™ for a core maxillofacial surgical procedure: orbital floor reconstruction (OFR).MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out on two groups of participants with differing experience level. Novice graduate dental students and expert surgeons were recruited from a local dental school and academic residency programs, respectively. All participants completed the OFR module on Touch Surgery™. The primary outcome variable was simulator performance score. Post-module questionnaires rating specific aspects of the simulation experience were completed by both groups and served as the secondary outcome variables. The age and sex of participants were considered additional predictor variables. From these data, conclusions were made regarding three types of validity (face, content, and construct) for the Touch Surgery™ simulator. Dependent samples t-tests were used to explore the consistency in simulation performance scores across Phase 1 and 2 by experience level. Two multivariate ordinary least squares regression models were fit to estimate the relationship between experience and Phase 1 and 2 scores.ResultsA total of 39 novices and 10 experts naïve to Touch Surgery™ were recruited for the study. Experts outperformed novices on both phases of the OFR module (p<0.001), which provided the measure of construct validation. Responses to the questionnaire items used to assess face validity were favorable from both groups. Positive questionnaire responses were also recorded from experts alone on items assessing the content validity for the module. Participant age and sex were not significant predictors of performance scores.ConclusionConstruct, content, and face validity were observed for the OFR module on a novel cognitive simulator, Touch Surgery™. OFR simulation on the smart device platform could therefore serve as a useful cognitive training and assessment tool in maxillofacial surgery residency programs.



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