title: Face validation of the Virtual Electrosurgery Skill Trainer (VEST©).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Electrosurgery is a modality that is widely used in surgery, whose use has resulted in injuries, OR fires and even death. The SAGES has established the FUSE program to address the knowledge gap in the proper and safe usage of electrosurgical devices. Complementing it, we have developed the Virtual Electrosurgery Skill Trainer (VEST(©)), which is designed to train subjects in both cognitive and motor skills necessary to safely operate electrosurgical devices. The objective of this study is to asses the face validity of the VEST(©) simulator.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-three subjects were recruited at the 2014 SAGES Learning Center. They all completed the monopolar electrosurgery module on the VEST(©) simulator. At the end of the study, subjects assessed the face validity with questions that were scored on a 5-point Likert scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The subjects were divided into two groups; FUSE experience (n = 15) and no FUSE experience (n = 48). The median score for both the groups was 4 or higher on all questions and 5 on questions on effectiveness of VEST(©) in aiding learning electrosurgery fundamentals. Questions on using the simulator in their own skills lab and recommending it to their peers also scored at 5. Mann-Whitney U test showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) indicating a general agreement. 46% of the respondents preferred VEST compared with 52% who preferred animal model and 2% preferred both for training in electrosurgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated the face validity of the VEST(©) simulator. High scores showed that the simulator was visually realistic and reproduced lifelike tissue effects and the features were adequate enough to provide high realism. The self-learning instructional material was also found to be very useful in learning the fundamentals of electrosurgery. Adding more modules would increase the applicability of the VEST(©) simulator.
authors.affiliation: Center for Modeling, Simulation and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ganesh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sankaranarayanan
authors.affiliation: Center for Modeling, Simulation and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.|School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Northeastern University, Sheyang, China.
authors.forename: Baichun
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Boon Shaft School of Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Amie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Hussna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wakily
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Cambridge Health Alliance, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schwaitzberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Center for Modeling, Simulation and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Suvranu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Mount Auburn Hospital, 300 Mount Auburn Street Suite 407, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA. jolasky@mah.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Jaisa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olasky
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003198:Computer Simulation / Q000592:standards*; D003972:Diathermy; D004598:Electrosurgery / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D000066908:Simulation Training / Q000592:standards*; D013337:Students, Medical; D014584:User-Computer Interface
keywords: 3D virtual reality (VR); Electrosurgery; FUSE; Force feedback; Virtual Electrosurgery Skill Trainer (VEST)