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Just five more minutes, mom: why video games could make you a better endoscopist

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Abstract

Background

Gaming is a growing industry, having met an exponential growth amid the pandemic context. Video games improve the allocation and speed of attention and provide better spatial orientation in visual processing. These same qualities are sought after in GI endoscopists. This study aimed to investigate whether individuals with a gaming history have superior fine motor and visual skills on a virtual reality (VR) endoscopy simulator and if gaming consoles could be added as a proficiency tool in acquiring endoscopic skills.

Methods

Firstly, subjects’ baseline psychomotor skills and hand–eye coordination were tested using a VR simulator. Secondly, subjects were assigned to either group C and asked to refrain from any gaming for 14 days, or group T, who were asked to play on a console for 14 days. All subjects were then retested.

Results

81 students were included in the study. Baseline VR simulator testing showed better scores in those with a higher number of previous gaming hours (0 h—1598, 0 to 30 h—1970, 30 to 50 h—2150, 50 to 100 h—2395, > 100 h—2519; p < 0.05), with males outperforming females (p < 0.01). After spending an average of 19 h gaming, all parameters showed noteworthy improvement for those in group T (p < 0.01). No improvement was seen in group C.

Conclusions

Subjects who engage in console gaming have superior psychomotor skills and perform better on VR simulators. Approximately 20 h of console gaming can improve one’s simulator skills. With consoles being accessible, entertaining, and cheap, they could be used as an additional training platform for GI endoscopy residents.

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Funding

No funding was received for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babes Street, 400012, Cluj-Napoca-Napoca, Romania

    Radu Gugura, Marcel Tanțău & Cristian Tefas

  2. Gastroenterology Department, “Prof. Dr. Octavian Fodor” Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 19-21 Croitorilor Street, 400162, Cluj-Napoca-Napoca, Romania

    Petra Fischer, Marcel Tanțău & Cristian Tefas

Authors
  1. Radu Gugura
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  2. Petra Fischer
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  3. Marcel Tanțău
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  4. Cristian Tefas
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by RG and CT. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CT and PF and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. MT provided the necessary conditions for the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristian Tefas.

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Disclosures

Drs Radu Gugura, Petra Fischer, Marcel Tanțău and Cristian Tefas have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

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Supplementary Information

464_2023_10167_MOESM1_ESM.jpg

Picture showing one of the Simbionix VR simulators available in our department, with a participant training on the Endobubble level 1 module. Electronic supplementary material 1 (JPG 188 kb)

Electronic supplementary material 2 (DOCX 14 kb)

Electronic supplementary material 3 (DOCX 17 kb)

Electronic supplementary material 4 (DOCX 13 kb)

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Gugura, R., Fischer, P., Tanțău, M. et al. Just five more minutes, mom: why video games could make you a better endoscopist. Surg Endosc 37, 6901–6907 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-023-10167-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-023-10167-x

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