The Effect of Virtual Haptic Training on Real Surgical Drilling Proficiency

This sketch presents the design and preliminary results of a study that investigates the transference of motor skills learned in a haptic-enabled virtual environment to performance on a surgically-relevant task in the real world. The chosen task, which requires skills similar to those needed in a number of surgical procedures, including stapedotomy and cochleostomy, is drilling holes through an eggshell using a surgical drill without penetrating the egg’s inner membrane. Results reflect a learning curve for task proficiency and indicate a benefit to haptic training, but a planned follow-up study will be required for this claim to be statistically conclusive.