But more than that, the control arm has haptic response, which reflects the movements of instruments as they meet different anatomy. There are also different skill levels, ranging from beginner, which has very basic anatomic detail, to an intermediate mode, which lets users simulate an entire surgical procedure. There is also an advanced setting where different complications can arise, such as tachycardia, hemorrhage, optic nerve dissections, and more.
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November 2006The device also has voice recognition and activation, simulated anatomical responses to medication, and will show bleeding as virtual surgery is performed. A curriculum has also been developed to go along with the device.
Initial validation studies have shown that the real-world surgical skill levels students trained with the device are somewhat higher than those not trained on the device.
In general, the surgical simulator is here to stay, Dr. Fried said.
©2006 The Triological Society