Laparoscopic Skills Acquisition, Medical Students, Simulation Training, Laparoscopy, Surgical Education and Skill Acquisition
Conditions
Brief summary
This study evaluated whether regular mobile video game play could improve laparoscopic simulation performance among medical students without prior surgical or simulation experience. Thirty first-, second-, and third-year medical students were randomly assigned to either a mobile gaming intervention group or a control group. All participants received standardized training using the Simbionix LAP Mentor™ laparoscopic simulator and completed baseline assessments of hand-eye coordination, suture placement, and bimanual maneuver tasks. During the subsequent three-week intervention period, participants in the intervention group played selected mobile games (DATA WING™ and Aim Lab Mobile™) for at least 30 minutes daily, while the control group was instructed not to play mobile games. After the intervention, all participants repeated the same laparoscopic simulation tasks. The primary objective was to determine whether mobile gaming improved laparoscopic performance, as measured by task completion time and performance accuracy. The findings of this study may help clarify whether inexpensive and widely accessible mobile games can serve as an adjunct to simulation-based surgical education for novice medical students.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMobile Phone Gaming
Participants played DATA WING™ and Aim Lab Mobile™ on a mobile device for at least 30 minutes per day over 3 weeks. The intervention was designed to evaluate whether regular mobile gaming improves laparoscopic simulation performance in novice medical students.
Sponsors
Marmara University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Masking description
No masking was used. Participants and investigators were aware of group assignments because the intervention consisted of daily mobile video game use, which could not be concealed.
Intervention model description
Participants were randomly assigned to either a mobile gaming intervention group or a control group. Both groups completed baseline and post-intervention laparoscopic simulation assessments after a 3-week intervention period.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Medical students enrolled in the first, second, or third year of medical school. * No previous real surgical experience. * No previous virtual or laparoscopic simulation training experience. * Self-reported mobile game use of less than 3 hours per week before enrollment. * Ability and willingness to provide informed consent. * Voluntary participation in the study.
Exclusion criteria
* Previous real surgical experience. * Previous virtual or simulated surgical training. * Mobile game use of 3 hours or more per week before enrollment. * Failure or unwillingness to provide informed consent. * Withdrawal of consent during the study.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hand-eye coordination task completion time | Baseline and 3 weeks | Change in completion time for the hand-eye coordination module of the Simbionix LAP Mentor™ laparoscopic simulator from baseline to 3 weeks. |
| Suture placement task completion time | Baseline and 3 weeks | Change in completion time for the suture placement module of the Simbionix LAP Mentor™ laparoscopic simulator from baseline to 3 weeks. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Laparoscopic simulation performance accuracy | Baseline and 3 weeks | Change in accuracy scores for the hand-eye coordination, suture placement, and bimanual maneuver modules of the Simbionix LAP Mentor™ laparoscopic simulator from baseline to 3 weeks. |
Countries
Turkey (Türkiye)
Contacts
STUDY_DIRECTORM. Ümit Uğurlu, Professor of Surgery, M.D.
Marmara University
Outcome results
None listed