20 March 2001 Leeds neurosurgeon pioneers on line brain surgery training A Leeds neurosurgeon has pioneered a new web site which is set to revolutionise the training of future neurosurgeons by providing on line demonstrations of virtual operations. He came up with the idea for the web site project which aims to help train post graduate medical students. Working with Nigel John, a computer expert from the University of Manchester, and partners across Europe, Nick has produced a programme which allows students to learn specialised surgery via computer simulations, similar to those used in the training of astronauts. The site, which is already available on the world wide web, initially included neurosurgery, but has been expanded to include demonstrations of other operations such as a liver biopsy and a lumbar puncture.
Students can practice surgery by using the 'virtual operations' without any risk to the patients.
Using a simulator, students can put virtual drain tubes into the brain or virtual needles into the spine. The grant will help us develop the project and build the programme into an educational package for students which will then be assessed. We hope that, as the programme is accessible to everyone through the internet, it will be a valuable tool for teaching.