CONSUMER
A Wii medical breakthrough
18-01-2008
by Emmet Ryan
Playing the Nintendo Wii can help medical practitioners to hone their surgical skills, according to Dublin-based medical devices firm Haptica.
The claim follows experiments by researchers at a medical centre in Phoenix, Arizona, which found that surgical residents performed better during simulated surgery on Haptica's ProMIS system after playing on the Wii console. To test how the Wii affected surgical skill, the researchers asked eight trainee doctors to play it for an hour before performing a virtual surgery.
They used Haptica's training tool ProMIS, which simulates a patient's body and tracks the surgeon's movements as they operate. They fed the movements to an algorithm which scores the virtual surgeon on a range of factors. Wii-playing residents scored 48 percent higher on 'tool control' and performance than those without the Wii warm-up.
Haptica's chief executive Fiona Slevin told ENN that this new information could aid surgeons that perform laparoscopic surgery, also known as keyhole surgery.
"When doing laparoscopic surgery a surgeon is trying to make sense of a 2D image on a screen. It requires ambidexterity and certain psycho-motor skills," explained Slevin. "The skills for being excellent at computer games are not dissimilar to those required in keyhole surgery."
Haptica's ProMIS device, which is used to help train surgeons, is not too far removed from the world of video games. "Our ProMIS simulator has been referred to as a Playstation for surgeons," said Slevin. "Instead of practicing on animals or humans, trainees are able to practice on inanimate subjects and get feedback on how they performed. This has great potential for surgical schools as it can help them to track the development of trainees' skills."
While the medical community might find new practical ways to aid in life-saving surgery, the far more exciting prospect is surely the potential this research has for video games. Classic games such as Operation and Buckaroo could find a whole new audience on the Wii. Not only would it result in endless hours of fun for all the family but the revival of these games could also help herald in a new generation of top class surgeons.
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