scholarly journals Early assessment with a virtual reality haptic simulator predicts performance in clinical practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 274-278
Author(s):  
Loulwa M Al-Saud ◽  
Faisal Mushtaq ◽  
Richard P Mann ◽  
Isra'a Mirghani ◽  
Ahmed Balkhoyor ◽  
...  

BackgroundPrediction of clinical training aptitude in medicine and dentistry is largely driven by measures of a student’s intellectual capabilities. The measurement of sensorimotor ability has lagged behind, despite being a key constraint for safe and efficient practice in procedure-based medical specialties. Virtual reality (VR) haptic simulators, systems able to provide objective measures of sensorimotor performance, are beginning to establish their utility in facilitating sensorimotor skill acquisition, and it is possible that they may also inform the prediction of clinical performance.MethodsA retrospective cohort study examined the relationship between student performance on a haptic VR simulator in the second year of undergraduate dental study with subsequent clinic performance involving patients 2 years later. The predictive ability was tested against a phantom-head crown test (a traditional preclinical dental assessment, in the third year of study).ResultsVR scores averaged across the year explained 14% of variance in clinic performance, while the traditional test explained 5%. Students who scored highly on this averaged measure were ~10 times more likely to be high performers in the clinical crown test. Exploratory analysis indicated that single-trial VR scores did not correlate with real-world performance, but the relationship was statistically significant and strongest in the first half of the year and weakened over time.ConclusionsThe data demonstrate the potential of a VR haptic simulator to predict clinical performance and open up the possibility of taking a data-driven approach to identifying individuals who could benefit from support in the early stages of training.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052110374
Author(s):  
Sejal Tamakuwala ◽  
Joshua Dean ◽  
Katherine J. Kramer ◽  
Adib Shafi ◽  
Sarah Ottum ◽  
...  

AIM The study aims to determine resident applicant metrics most predictive of academic and clinical performance as measured by the Council of Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) examination scores and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) clinical performance (Milestones) in the aftermath of United States Medical Licensing Examination Scores (USMLE) Step 1 becoming a pass/fail examination. METHODS In this retrospective study, electronic and paper documents for Wayne State University Obstetrics and Gynecology residents matriculated over a 5-year period ending July 2018 were collected. USMLE scores, clerkship grade, and wording on the letters of recommendation as well as Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) were extracted from the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and scored numerically. Semiannual Milestone evaluations and yearly CREOG scores were used as a marker of resident performance. Statistical analysis on residents (n = 75) was performed using R and SPSS and significance was set at P < .05. RESULTS Mean USMLE score correlated with CREOG performance and, of all 3 Steps, Step 1 had the tightest association. MSPE and class percentile also correlated with CREOGs. Clerkship grade and recommendation letters had no correlation with resident performance. Of all metrics provided by ERAS, none taken alone, were as useful as Step 1 scores at predicting performance in residency. Regression modeling demonstrated that the combination of Step 2 scores with MSPE wording restored the predictive ability lost by Step 1. CONCLUSIONS The change of USMLE Step 1 to pass/fail may alter resident selection strategies. Other objective markers are needed in order to evaluate an applicant’s future performance in residency.


2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sybille Rockstroh ◽  
Karl Schweizer

Effects of four retest-practice sessions separated by 2 h intervals on the relationship between general intelligence and four reaction time tasks (two memory tests: Sternberg's memory scanning, Posner's letter comparison; and two attention tests: continuous attention, attention switching) were examined in a sample of 83 male participants. Reaction times on all tasks were shortened significantly. The effects were most pronounced with respect to the Posner paradigm and smallest with respect to the Sternberg paradigm. The relationship to general intelligence changed after practice for two reaction time tasks. It increased to significance for continuous attention and decreased for the Posner paradigm. These results indicate that the relationship between psychometric intelligence and elementary cognitive tasks depends on the ability of skill acquisition. In the search for the cognitive roots of intelligence the concept of learning seems to be of importance.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tibor Guzsvinecz ◽  
Éva Orbán-Mihálykó ◽  
Cecília Sik-Lányi ◽  
Erika Perge

AbstractThe interaction time of students who did spatial ability tests in a virtual reality environment is analyzed. The spatial ability test completion times of 240 and 61 students were measured. A desktop display as well as the Gear VR were used by the former group and by the latter one, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the probability of correct answers and completion times, while linear regression was used to evaluate effects and interactions of following factors on test completion times: the users’ gender and primary hand, test type and device used. The findings were that while the completion times are not significantly affected by the users’ primary hand, other factors have significant effects on them: they are decreased by the male gender in itself, while they are increased by solving Mental Rotation Tests or by using the Gear VR. The largest significant increment in interaction time in virtual reality during spatial ability tests is when Mental Rotation Tests are accomplished by males with the Gear VR, while the largest significant decrease in interaction time is when Mental Cutting Tests are completed with a desktop display.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Nouvellet ◽  
Sangeeta Bhatia ◽  
Anne Cori ◽  
Kylie E. C. Ainslie ◽  
Marc Baguelin ◽  
...  

AbstractIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have sought to control SARS-CoV-2 transmission by restricting population movement through social distancing interventions, thus reducing the number of contacts. Mobility data represent an important proxy measure of social distancing, and here, we characterise the relationship between transmission and mobility for 52 countries around the world. Transmission significantly decreased with the initial reduction in mobility in 73% of the countries analysed, but we found evidence of decoupling of transmission and mobility following the relaxation of strict control measures for 80% of countries. For the majority of countries, mobility explained a substantial proportion of the variation in transmissibility (median adjusted R-squared: 48%, interquartile range - IQR - across countries [27–77%]). Where a change in the relationship occurred, predictive ability decreased after the relaxation; from a median adjusted R-squared of 74% (IQR across countries [49–91%]) pre-relaxation, to a median adjusted R-squared of 30% (IQR across countries [12–48%]) post-relaxation. In countries with a clear relationship between mobility and transmission both before and after strict control measures were relaxed, mobility was associated with lower transmission rates after control measures were relaxed indicating that the beneficial effects of ongoing social distancing behaviours were substantial.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 810
Author(s):  
Areej Y. Bayahya ◽  
Wadee Alhalabi ◽  
Sultan H. AlAmri

Smart health technology includes physical sensors, intelligent sensors, and output advice to help monitor patients’ health and adjust their behavior. Virtual reality (VR) plays an increasingly larger role to improve health outcomes, being used in a variety of medical specialties including robotic surgery, diagnosis of some difficult diseases, and virtual reality pain distraction for severe burn patients. Smart VR health technology acts as a decision support system in the diseases diagnostic test of patients as they perform real world tasks in virtual reality (e.g., navigation). In this study, a non-invasive, cognitive computerized test based on 3D virtual environments for detecting the main symptoms of dementia (memory loss, visuospatial defects, and spatial navigation) is proposed. In a recent study, the system was tested on 115 real patients of which thirty had a dementia, sixty-five were cognitively healthy, and twenty had a mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The performance of the VR system was compared with Mini-Cog test, where the latter is used to measure cognitive impaired patients in the traditional diagnosis system at the clinic. It was observed that visuospatial and memory recall scores in both clinical diagnosis and VR system of dementia patients were less than those of MCI patients, and the scores of MCI patients were less than those of the control group. Furthermore, there is a perfect agreement between the standard methods in functional evaluation and navigational ability in our system where P-value in weighted Kappa statistic= 100% and between Mini-Cog-clinical diagnosis vs. VR scores where P-value in weighted Kappa statistic= 93%.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104687812110082
Author(s):  
Omamah Almousa ◽  
Ruby Zhang ◽  
Meghan Dimma ◽  
Jieming Yao ◽  
Arden Allen ◽  
...  

Objective. Although simulation-based medical education is fundamental for acquisition and maintenance of knowledge and skills; simulators are often located in urban centers and they are not easily accessible due to cost, time, and geographic constraints. Our objective is to develop a proof-of-concept innovative prototype using virtual reality (VR) technology for clinical tele simulation training to facilitate access and global academic collaborations. Methodology. Our project is a VR-based system using Oculus Quest as a standalone, portable, and wireless head-mounted device, along with a digital platform to deliver immersive clinical simulation sessions. Instructor’s control panel (ICP) application is designed to create VR-clinical scenarios remotely, live-stream sessions, communicate with learners and control VR-clinical training in real-time. Results. The Virtual Clinical Simulation (VCS) system offers realistic clinical training in virtual space that mimics hospital environments. Those VR clinical scenarios are customizable to suit the need, with high-fidelity lifelike characters designed to deliver interactive and immersive learning experience. The real-time connection and live-stream between ICP and VR-training system enables interactive academic learning and facilitates access to tele simulation training. Conclusions. VCS system provides innovative solutions to major challenges associated with conventional simulation training such as access, cost, personnel, and curriculum. VCS facilitates the delivery of academic and interactive clinical training that is similar to real-life settings. Tele-clinical simulation systems like VCS facilitate necessary academic-community partnerships, as well as global education network between resource-rich and low-income countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 2566-2576
Author(s):  
Erwin Wu ◽  
Mitski Piekenbrock ◽  
Takuto Nakumura ◽  
Hideki Koike

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Antonio M. Lluch ◽  
Clàudia Lluch ◽  
María Arregui ◽  
Esther Jiménez ◽  
Luis Giner-Tarrida

Education currently focuses on improving academic knowledge and clinical skills, but it is also important for students to develop personal and interpersonal skills from the start of their clinical practice. The aim was to evaluate the effect of peer mentoring in third-year students and to gauge the evolution of non-technical skills (NTS) acquisition up to the fifth year. The study groups were selected between September 2015 and May 2018, based on the NTS training they had or had not received: (1) fifth-year students with no training (G1); (2) third-year students mentored in NTS (G2a); and (3) a small group of fifth-year students who became mentors (G2b). A total of 276 students who took part in this study were assessed using a 114-item self-evaluation questionnaire. Data were collected from seven surveys conducted between September 2015 and May 2018, and statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and Fisher’s post-hoc test. G2a improved their non-technical skill acquisition over three years of clinical training up to their fifth year. This group and G2b showed statistically significant differences compared to non-mentored students (G1). Peer mentoring at the beginning of clinical practice is a valid option for training students in non-technical skills.


Author(s):  
Monique Frances Crane ◽  
Sue Brouwers ◽  
Mark William Wiggins ◽  
Thomas Loveday ◽  
Kirsty Forrest ◽  
...  

Objective: This research examined whether negative and positive arousal emotions modify the relationship between experience level and cue utilization among anesthetists. Background: The capacity of a practitioner to form precise associations between clusters of features (e.g., symptoms) and events (e.g., diagnosis) and then act on them is known as cue utilization. A common assumption is that practice experience allows opportunities for cue acquisition and cue utilization. However, this relationship is often not borne out in research findings. This study investigates the role of emotional state in this relationship. Method: An online tool (EXPERTise 2.0) was used to assess practitioner cue utilization for tasks relevant to anesthesia. The experience of positive and negative arousal emotions in the previous three days was measured, and emotion clusters were generated. Experience was measured as the composite of practice years and hours of practice experience. The moderating role of emotion on the relationship between experience and cue utilization was examined. Results: Data on 125 anesthetists (36% female) were included in the analysis. The predicted interaction between arousal emotions and the experience level emerged. In particular, post hoc analyses revealed that anxiety-related emotions facilitated the likelihood of high cue utilization in less experienced practitioners. Conclusion: The findings suggest a role for emotions in cue use and suggest a functional role for normal range anxiety emotions in a simulated work-relevant task. Application: This research illustrates the importance of understanding the potentially functional effects common negative arousal emotions may have on clinical performance, particularly for those with less experience.


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