As virtual reality education and training becomes increasingly popular, an ever-growing body of research demonstrates superior efficacy, time savings, cost savings, reduced distractions, and an overall improved experience.
1. VR trained students showed a 250% improvement in their ability to accurately complete a safety procedure
Students were divided into two groups, one which used a VR-based training module, and another which used the standard SAGES FUSE didactic training materials. A week later, learners were tested on their knowledge and 70% of the VR-based group were able to perform the correct sequence of steps, whereas only 20% of the control group were able to do the same.
2. VR trained surgeons were 29% faster and made 6x fewer errors
Surgical residents learning gallbladder dissection showed significant improvements when training using virtual reality. Non-VR-trained residents were nine times more likely to transiently fail to make progress and five times more likely to injure the gallbladder.
3. VR training is 83% less expensive and 50% faster than traditional in-person simulation
Institutions and students leveraging virtual reality for advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) training experienced a significant reduction in cost and time of training.
4. 83% of VR-trained surgical residents could successfully perform a new procedure, whereas 0% of the traditionally trained residents could do the same
The Imperial College of London conducted a study with surgical residents in which they explored if VR would lead to better outcomes. The results were overwhelmingly positive, showing that within the same amount of training time, almost all of the VR trained surgeons could complete the new procedure in a lab setting, whereas none of the traditionally trained surgical residents could do the same.
5. 50% reduction in critical surgical errors and 34x reduction in cost for VR trained learners
Orthopedic surgery residents who trained with immersive virtual reality made half the number of critical mistakes as those who trained using traditional methods. On top of this, VR training reduced the learning curve by up to 50 cases, substituted nearly an hour of actual surgical time and cost more than 34x less than traditional training.
