Playing with the Wii could help surgeons in training improve their fine motor skills and performance in a surgical simulator. Eight trainees were asked to play the Wii for an hour before performing virtual laparoscopic surgery with a tool that simulates a patient’s body and tracks the surgeon’s movements as he or she operates.
The Wii-playing residents scored 48 percent higher than others without the warm-up with the Wii, working faster and more accurately.
Although I’m a great fan of the Wii and would love to advertise it, I have to point out that anytime you take two groups where one practices for an hour before doing an activity and the other doesn’t, you will almost always find the first does better. On the other hand, it could be a very helpful tool if it is used intentionally.
I just refuse to buy something that makes adults continually use the word “Wii.”
At least 17 years ago the idea of using ‘haptic’ devices to train professionals for functioning effectively in 3-D was popular in the mining business, and I know of one research project which obtained a ‘haptic bench’ that was snatched up by the university surgeons training over the road when the mining researchers were done with it. In fact when the Queen came to town (late 1990s?) she was showed this futuristic application. Last year I was operated on by one of the surgeon-trainers, and I asked him about the project – he said it had been very helpful for their trainees. I also know that a company had been formed in Singapore in the mid-1990s to market such technology to medical schools.
Sounds like someone either simultaneously had this good idea or saw a demo of the above and went home to figure out another approach they could market. It does seem to be a positive development – just think of it as a type of ‘non-destructive testing’! Much better than the alternatives.
#2, of course we know that we adults say “Wii” all the time. We just spell it differently. 🙂