If you thought that gaming was only for the high on adrenaline teens and grownup boys, well, here’s news: doctors too now are playing video games before getting inside the operation theatre. While this may not alleviate your fear of going under the knife, you can at least be assured that the surgeon operating you is adequately warmed up and has steady hands.
A preliminary study shows that surgeons can sharpen their motor skills and improve their performance on the table by playing Nintendo Wii. The Wii is a home video game console from Nintendo. The researchers selected eight trainee surgeons to play Marble Mania on Wii for an hour. The game required specific hand manoeuvres. Then they were asked to perform virtual surgery. They scored 48 per cent better on the tests compared to surgeons who did not play on the Wii. The subjects wore motion sensors equipped gloves during both playtime and surgery simulation. It showed that both actions required similar movements.
According to Kanav Kohel and Marshall Smith of the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Arizona, who worked on the research, the point about surgery is to execute small finely controlled movements with your hands, and that is exactly what one gets with the Wii.
However, not all games are suitable for improving simulator performance required in fine surgical procedures. While Marble Mania, in which a player tilts the Wii Remote to guide a marble around in-game levels are effective in improving motor control, playing Tennis, although highly entertaining, is not.
Past research has found similar results where playing video games requiring fine control helps in honing skills for minimally invasive keyhole or laparoscopic surgery that requires subtle hand movements.
Researchers and Nintendo are now reportedly designing Wii software that help precisely simulate surgical procedures. They concur it will be useful in developing countries where costly specialized training systems is unavailable. The Wii is seen as a cost-effective training tool.
Although gaming is touted as a boon in improving motor skills in rehab therapy and fight health problems like obesity, it stills remains to be seen how far it can go in actually training future generation of surgeons. Remember, no amount of gaming can turn a quack into a medical genius. So, do check the credentials of your surgeon before putting your life in his hands!
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