“A total of 23 subjects (17 novices and 6 experts) were recruited to participate in the study. The results show that the expert group completed the tasks more quickly than the novices, and that the novices completed the tasks more quickly after practice with the simulator. An analysis of the task completion time shows that experts completed the tasks more quickly than novices, and that, as expected, novices reduced their task time after practice. For the path length metric, experts completed the tasks using a shorter path, as expected, for all tasks. Novices decreased the path length from the pre-test to the post-test.”
McCracken et al., “Development of a physical shoulder simulator for the training of basic arthroscopic skills”, Int J Med Robotics Comput Assist Surg., 2017
“Subjects were recruited from among residents and attending surgeons in an orthopaedic surgery residency program. Each subject was tested on an arthroscopic shoulder simulator and objectively scored on the basis of the time taken to complete a standardized object selection program. After an interval of at least two weeks, each subject was then tested on a cadaveric shoulder arthroscopy model designed to replicate the shoulder arthroscopy simulator testing protocol, and the time to completion was again recorded. These results demonstrated a strong correlation between performance of basic arthroscopic tasks in a simulator model and performance of the same tasks in a cadaveric model.”
Martin et al., “Arthroscopic Basic Task Performance in Shoulder Simulator Model Correlates with Similar Task Performance in Cadavers”, J Bone Joint Surg Am., 2011
“Six fellowship-trained lower-limb surgeons were given standardized instruction regarding the performance of an arthroscopic Bankart suture on a laboratory-based simulator. They performed three single Bankart sutures on each of four occasions, one to two weeks apart. Six months later, the same surgeons repeated the study. This study objectively demonstrated a loss of all of the initial improvement in the performance of an arthroscopic Bankart suture following a six-month interval in which the surgeons did not do the procedure. The results indicate a need for regular repetition of some surgical tasks in order to maintain optimum performance levels and to consolidate the skills needed for newly learned procedures.”
Howells et al. “Retention of Arthroscopic Shoulder Skills Learned with Use of a Simulator”