Researchers have developed a computer simulator that allows surgeons to practise operations in order to hone their skills before trying the procedure for real. As well as monitoring the time a surgeon takes to perform a surgical procedure, Mist (minimally invasive surgical trainer) calculates the accuracy of each of a surgeon hands. At the end of the operation, the simulator gives the surgeon a score, thus enabling a surgeon to see if his performance is improving or alert bosses to an inexperienced surgeon. In addition, Mist enables surgeons to practise an operation on a particular patient by using their “virtual” organs generated from CT and MRI scans. The developers of Mist believe that simulators will eventually remove the need for surgeons to train on animals.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.bbc.co.uk on the 27th December 2001
