VR training simulators present a relatively low-cost, adaptable, and easily supervised method to provide preparation for various surgical procedures and will likely become the training standard as VR technology continues to improve and increase in availability. These strengths, as well as others allow for VR training regimens to often outperform conventional methods 12– 16.Īdditionally, the usage of VR angiograms has been proven to aid in various challenges such as spatial and depth perception 17. VR-based training regimens provide an exciting new avenue for physicians in training to be able to perform various procedures in a low-stress environment, while providing exact repeatability and the ability to adapt each procedure to best suit the needs of each individual physician in training. When physicians in training were given a 30-minute VR cardiac experience they scored 23% higher on a multiple choice quiz regarding visual-spatial as well as cardiac anatomy when compared to their peers that used conventional, independent study methods 10, 11. ![]() Using VR to better retain spatial information has been proven to be more effective than conventional methods (such as going through 2D images slice by slice) by quantitatively increasing spatial knowledge retention for physicians in training. Recently, virtual reality (VR) has been explored to better train clinicians for various procedures including cataract, laparoscopic, and orthopedic surgeries 7– 9. Using conventional techniques, and no additional guidance tools, 72% of femoral artery punctures required greater than one attempt 6. Currently, the most common cardiac catheterization method is to access the femoral artery 5, however, patient shift makes relying on pre-operative CT data inaccurate, resulting in additional intra-operative imaging. Physicians perform cardiac catheterizations for motives such as locating blockages in blood vessels, performing heart biopsies or angioplasties, treating irregular heart rhythms, closing holes within the heart, or various other purposes 5. Although these challenges result in risks for the patient, the procedure is still a widely used procedure for cardiac catheterization. This is far from the only possible issue however, additional challenges are avoiding unnecessary rupture or puncture of blood vessels, which can cause thrombosis 4. Due to the difficulties with the procedure, intra-operative imaging systems, such as X-ray fluoroscopy, are also often used 2, contributing ionizing radiation to both patients and physicians 3. ![]() This catheter is then guided through the vessel into the heart. A conventional cardiac catheterization procedure consists of a physician accessing a larger artery, generally the femoral or iliac artery in the upper thigh area 1, and inserting a catheter.
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