Education and progress at the 24th Annual EAU Congress in...( March 2009 - The Education Office of...),Health

March 2009 - The Education Office of the European Association of Urology is very proud to present the first edition of Education & Progress, to be held during the 24th Annual EAU Congress in Stockholm from 18 to 20 March. Education & Progress presents notable technological innovations in urological treatment and training.

Minimally invasive surgery has revolutionised the diagnosis and therapy of diseases by using miniaturised treatment and surgical procedures. However, minimally invasive surgery has largely deprived the surgeon of the sense of feel that open surgery provides. Surgeons must acquire a new haptic sense for performing minimally invasive surgery and that requires additional training. The importance of (virtual) simulation training technology is inevitable and growing as it is recognised that the learning curve is effectively improved with these new methods.

What is more, playing certain video games on the Nintendo Wii helps surgical residents improve their fine motor skills and their performance on a serious surgery simulator, according to a small study. To test how the Wii affected surgical skill, researchers Dr. Kanav Kahol and Dr. Mark Smith asked eight residents to play it for an hour before performing virtual laparoscopic surgery.

Afterwards the residents used a training tool which simulates a patient's body in 3D and tracks the surgeon's movements as they operate. Then the virtual surgeon was scored on a range of factors. Wii-playing residents scored 48 per cent higher on tool control and performance than those without the Wii warm-up. The researchers also found that some games are especially good because players must use small, precise movements of the controller.

Education & Progress gives medical professionals an opportunity to acquire hands-on experience with many new devices. In the Education & Progress area (room C11), visitors can practice on the Ablatherm HIFU simulator from EDAP TMS, play with a
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