Research shows gaming can improve medical skills

IF WE KNEW becoming a doctor involved playing on a Nintendo Wii we would all be signing up.

This is the case at Banner Good Samaritan Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona, as studies by Dr Mark Smith director of the hospital's Simulation Education and Training (SimET) Center and partner Dr. Kanav Kahol, a bioinformatics expert show that the popular Nintendo console improves surgical ability.

Second year resident Jeff Henke is among the 16 surgical residents used in the study which showed that the doctors who regularly played on the Wii scored 48 per cent higher on surgical control than those who didn’t.

Dr Mark Smith, says, "the surgeons develop an increased efficiency, less errors, more fluid movement - basically they're just better".

Henke jokes, “this isn’t exactly what I pictured when I thought of medical school…but I’m not complaining”.

Studies into the effects of gaming aren’t new, previous tests have found that those who play on video games have better hand-eye co ordination.

However Smith explains that "what we're finding with the Wii is that the surgeons that use it regularly are achieving results that far outstrip those who have just gamed before. And that's because the Wii is very different."

Due to the precise movements required to play some Wii games, this console is far more effective than others. The best game for surgical movements is apparently Kororinpa – where the gamer has to guide a marble through a maze.

Results show that the hand movements made in this game are 90 percent the same as performing laparoscopic surgery – however, that isn’t an invitation for gamers to start slicing their friends open.

The similarities of surgery and using the Wii are obvious, not only because of the precise hand movements required, but also because you have to look at the screen while you’re using it. Henke explains: "The future of surgery is utilising remote onscreen technology."

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Kotaku