Surgical Training Outcomes Using a Mixed Reality Combination System

A significant number of medical errors are surgical, when patients are in the operating room, and are also a prominent cause of death. Prior work introduced a Mixed Reality Combination System (MRCS) that integrates Augmented Reality (AR) technology, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor, and 3D-printed, collagen-based specimens to enable realistic and versatile synthetic environments for surgical training, with the goal of alleviating this issue. The MRCS creates an iterative learning scenario that allows a user to pick up a skill set in a limited time. This paper demonstrates the advantages of the MRCS technology through human subjects studies that assess its effectiveness. Results from a controlled study show that the MRCS study participants are 25% better at task execution, reach a net zero difference in expected task outcomes in 75% of the cases, and demonstrate self-confidence in their surgical skills compared to the non-MRCS study participants. A second qualitative study with medical residents demonstrates MRCS’s proposed benefit as a training tool in a medical school curriculum. This work has the potential to benefit future surgical training and surgical planning.