Pa. In a laboratory at a Pennsylvania State University teaching hospital here, surgical residents are racing against the clock, clamping and suturing, grimacing when their tools tear soft tissue. Today, at least, no lives are at stake. Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is one of a growing number of teaching hospitals equipping their labs with virtual-reality devices that allow medical residents to practice their skills on machines rather than on patients. Some day, proponents believe, all surgical trainees will be required to practice this way. Sending a surgeon into the operating room without simulated practice will be as unthinkable as allowing a pilot to command an aircraft before putting in hours on a flight simulator.
Simulation is both safer and cheaper.
It may be cheaper in the long run, but it requires a hefty investment up-front. One of the most advanced devices is the Minimally Invasive Surgery Trainer. The MIST system, as it's known, consists of a frame holding two forceps that are electronically linked to a powerful computer. A television screen shows a simulated image of the instruments' position and movement. Residents manually adjust the forceps to manipulate the image as the computer program guides them through six surgical skills.