Stat Tracker

Playing Video Games Improves Surgical Skills

Playing video games appears to help surgeons with skills that truly count: how well they operate using a precise technique, according to a study published in the Archives of Surgery.

According to the study, there is a strong correlation between video game skills and a surgeon’s capabilities when performing laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopy and related surgeries involve manipulating instruments through a small incision or body opening where the surgeon’s movements are guided by watching a television screen.

Video game skills translated into higher scores on a day-and-half-long surgical skills test, and the correlation was much higher than the surgeon’s length of training or prior experience in laparoscopic surgery, the study said. Regression analysis also indicated that video game skill and past video game experience are significant predictors of demonstrated laparoscopic skills.

Out of 33 surgeons from Beth Israel Medical Center in New York who participated in the study, the nine doctors who had at some point played video games at least 3 hours per week made 37% fewer errors, performed 27% faster and scored 42% better in the test of surgical skills than the 15 surgeons who had never played video games before.

"It was surprising that past commercial video game play was such a strong predictor of advanced surgical skills," said Douglas Gentile, Iowa State University psychology professor and one of the study’s authors. This supports previous research that video games can improve fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, visual attention, depth perception and computer competency, the study said.

"I use the same hand-eye coordination to play video games as I use for surgery," senior study author James Rosser, M.D., of Beth Israel said. "Video games may be a practical teaching tool to help train surgeons."

Dr. Rosser has developed a course called Top Gun, in which surgical trainees warm up their coordination, agility and accuracy with a video game before entering the operating room.

"Parents should not see this study as beneficial if their child is playing video games for over an hour a day," Gentile said. "Spending that much time playing video games is not going to help their child’s chances of getting into medical school."

About these data: A cross-sectional analysis of the performance of 33 surgical residents and attending physicians from Beth Israel Medical Center in New York participated in the Rosser Top Gun Laparoscopic Skills and Suturing Program (Top Gun). Three different video game exercises were performed and surveys were completed to assess past experience with video games and current level of play and each subject’s level of surgical training, number of laparoscopic cases performed and number of years in medical practice. Rosser JC Jr, Lynch PJ, Cuddihy L, Gentile DA, Klonsky J, Merrell R. The impact of video games on training surgeons in the 21st century. Arch Surg. 2007;142:181-186.

Vision Loss Ranks With Foremost Fears

Americans strongly believe that losing one’s sight would have a significant negative impact on their quality of life, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Respondents said blindness and severe vision loss would have as much of a negative impact on quality of life as paralysis.

In terms of which health condition would have the most negative impact, losing one’s sight (21%) and paralysis (21%), ranked higher than HIV/AIDS (16%), cancer (14%), stroke (11%), heart attacks/disease (6%), diabetes (4%), and deafness (3%). The last 4% don’t know.

Three-quarters of Americans say that if they were to become blind or have severe vision loss, their biggest concern would be losing the ability to live independently. Not being able to read (68%), properly identify medication (65%) and drive (64%) also ranked high on the list of concerns.

Interestingly, an inability to watch television or go to the movies is a worry for less than half of Americans (36%). More than three-quarters of adults (85%) say they are very concerned about drivers with poor eyesight who put others at risk. A majority of Americans express some concern that a close family member might become blind or have severe vision loss (64%), or that they themselves may experience blindness or severe vision loss (52%). Almost half expressed concern about potentially having to care for someone who is blind or has severe vision loss (46%). OM

About these data: The American Foundation for the Blind fielded a national survey of 1,000 adults ages 18 and older on their attitudes and opinions of severe vision loss and blindness. The poll was developed by Widmeyer Research & Polling and Public Opinion Strategies. It was conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, 2007. The margin of error for the study is +/-3.1 at the 95th percentile confidence interval.