Development of a lumbar puncture virtual simulator for medical students training: A preliminary evaluation

Link to article at PubMed

Int J Med Robot. 2023 Sep 6:e2572. doi: 10.1002/rcs.2572. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Lumbar puncture is an essential medical procedure whose objective is to obtain cerebrospinal fluid. Lumbar puncture is considered a complex procedure, mainly for novice residents who suffer from stress and low confidence, which may result in harm to the patient.

METHODS: The LPVirSim, has been developed in four stages: i) requirements analysis through user-centred design; ii) prototyping of the virtual environment and the haptic component; iii) preliminary tests with Ph.D. students and physicians using two haptic devices (Omega.7 and Sigma.7); iv) a user study where physicians evaluated the usability and user experience.

RESULTS: The LPVirSim integrates non-technical skills and the possibility of representing different patients for training. Usability increased from 61.76 to 68.75 in the preliminary tests to 71.43 in the user study.

CONCLUSIONS: All the results showed good usability and demonstrated that the simulator arouses interest and realistically represents a Lumbar puncture, through the force and visual feedback.

PMID:37671968 | DOI:10.1002/rcs.2572

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