Simulation and Education in Cardiac Surgery

Abstract

Surgical simulators are gaining rapid acceptance as training tools for early learners and for retraining experienced surgeons with new techniques. Because the robotic system intervenes between the surgeon and the “tactile” sense of surgery, robotics offers a unique opportunity to provide very high fidelity simulation of the surgical experience. Surgeons will be able to learn and practice component parts of complex operations prior to taking the technique to the operating theatre with live patients.

As robotic simulators are developed that provide high fidelity experience they can be deployed to multiple uses. Simulators can help to teach new skills or to practice uncommon procedures or procedural components. With simulation, new techniques and devices can be tested prior to beginning clinical trials. Simulated experience can assess competence for certification and/or privileging. Procedural safety can be improved through team training in simulated events. Every aspect of surgical practice in the twenty-first century will be improved by the deployment of simulation.