Training in Basic Laparoscopic Surgical Skills: Residents Opinion of the New Nintendo Wii-U Laparoscopic Simulator

Objective: Serious games are new in the field of laparoscopic surgical training. We evaluate the residents׳ opinion of a new laparoscopic simulator for the Nintendo Wii-U platform.

Design: Prospective questionnaire study. Participants received a standardized introduction and completed level 3 and 4 of the game "Underground." They filled out a questionnaire concerning demographics and their opinion on realism, usefulness, suitability, haptic feedback, and home training-use of the game.

Setting: Two tertiary teaching hospitals.

Participants: Obstetrics and gynaecology residents postgraduate year 1 to 6 (n = 59) from several European countries.

Results: Subjects (n = 59) were divided into 2 groups based on laparoscopic experience: Group A (n = 38) and Group B (n = 21). The realism of different aspects of the game received mean scores around 3 on a 5-point Likert scale. The hand-eye coordination was regarded most useful for training with a mean of 3.92 (standard deviation 0.93) and the game was considered most suitable for residents in the first part of their postgraduate training with a mean of 3.73 (standard deviation 0.97). Both groups differed especially concerning their opinion of the usefulness of the game as a training tool.

Conclusions: Most residents liked the new serious game for the Nintendo Wii-U. The usefulness and suitability as a laparoscopic training tool were rated at an acceptable to high level. However, the game does require improvements such as inclusion of a good scoring system before it can be integrated in resident training curricula.