Over on the UK Wired site, there's an interesting article about a study from the University of Texas that claims that playing joystick-based computer games hones the same hand-eye coordination skills required to master robotic surgery tools:
A group of physicians studying at UTMB -- a world leader in robotic surgery -- was put up against US high school and college students in a series of robotic surgery simulation tests. The study measured participants on 20 different skills, including how steady their grasping abilities were when performing surgical tasks such as passing a needle or lifting surgical instruments, along with 32 different teaching steps required to operate the robotic surgery simulator -- a training tool with dual hand-operated controllers. Real-time surgical movements are displayed on its video monitor.
The surgical skills of the high school students (who played video games an average of two hours a day) and the college students (some of whom spent four hours a day gaming) were found to be equal to the UTMB physicians -- and in some cases, even exceeded the skills of the residents. The UTMB physicians were able to save face when the same test groups were asked to perform non-robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery, the physicians unsurprisingly coming out on top.
As a GeekDad, I'm torn on the topic of games -- I like 'em, and have no problem with the kids playing them in moderation, but I know how addictive they are, and I despair of constantly having to police the kids on time limits. If the boys read this article, I can imagine the protests I'll hear: "But Dad, how do you expect me to get into med school and become a tele-surgeon if I don't finish this level?"
And I suppose similar arguments can be made for protein folding or drone piloting, right?
Anyway, check out the full article over on the UK Wired site.
Addendum: There was discussion of this article over on Reddit, and Redditor onacloverifalive had this to say:
[–]onacloverifalive 231 points 9 hours ago
Surgeon here. It's doubtful that this finding is of any relevance to better modern surgery skills today. Currently robotic surgery doesn't actually even use robotic assistance. The surgeon still controls every single movement and function of the mechanical arms and instruments, so really there is no robot at all. More importantly, the use of "robot" arms in surgery does not confer any technical advantage or difference in outcomes when compared to contemporary laparoscopic instruments. Video game training however, has also contributed to better dexterity with the basic maneuvering of laparoscopic instruments in an initial, limited way. The reason that it takes an absolute minimum of nine to ten years after college to train a surgeon to meet the minimum standards to practice independently has much less to do with technical ability anyway, and much more to do with the education and extensive practical experience needed to make safe and evidence-based decisions in the clinic, hospital, and operating room settings. The only thing we know for sure at this point about robotic surgery is that it is vastly more expensive and time consuming than other modern minimally invasive surgical techniques.
That is not to say that it will have no role in the future. At which point that technology progresses sufficiently to actually confer safer, more efficient, more cost effective surgery, then we will have something to discuss. At that point in time, every surgeon in practice will likely have grown up on a lifetime of video gaming anyway. I sure did.
