ChatGPT and neurosurgical education: A crossroads of innovation and opportunity.

Large language models (LLM) have been promising recently in the medical field, with numerous applications in clinical neuroscience. OpenAI's launch of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3.5 (GPT-3.5) in November 2022 and its successor, Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4 (GPT 4) in March 2023 have garnered widespread attention and debate surrounding natural language processing (NLP) and LLM advancements. Transformer models are trained on natural language datasets to predict and generate sequences of characters. Using internal weights from training, they produce tokens that align with their understanding of the initial input. This paper delves into ChatGPT's potential as a learning tool in neurosurgery while contextualizing its abilities for passing medical licensing exams and neurosurgery written boards. Additionally, possibilities for creating personalized case presentations and study material are discussed alongside ChatGPT's capacity to optimize the research workflow and perform a concise literature review. However, such tools need to be used with caution, given the possibility of artificial intelligence hallucinations and other concerns such as user overreliance, and complacency. Overall, this opinion paper raises key points surrounding ChatGPT's role in neurosurgical education.

Real-Time multifaceted artificial intelligence vs In-Person instruction in teaching surgical technical skills: a randomized controlled trial.

Trainees develop surgical technical skills by learning from experts who provide context for successful task completion, identify potential risks, and guide correct instrument handling. This expert-guided training faces significant limitations in objectively assessing skills in real-time and tracking learning. It is unknown whether AI systems can effectively replicate nuanced real-time feedback, risk identification, and guidance in mastering surgical technical skills that expert instructors offer. This randomized controlled trial compared real-time AI feedback to in-person expert instruction. Ninety-seven medical trainees completed a 90-min simulation training with five practice tumor resections followed by a realistic brain tumor resection. They were randomly assigned into 1-real-time AI feedback, 2-in-person expert instruction, and 3-no real-time feedback. Performance was assessed using a composite-score and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills rating, rated by blinded experts. Training with real-time AI feedback (n = 33) resulted in significantly better performance outcomes compared to no real-time feedback (n = 32) and in-person instruction (n = 32), .266, [95% CI .107 .425], p < .001; .332, [95% CI .173 .491], p = .005, respectively. Learning from AI resulted in similar OSATS ratings (4.30 vs 4.11, p = 1) compared to in-person training with expert instruction. Intelligent systems may refine the way operating skills are taught, providing tailored, quantifiable feedback and actionable instructions in real-time.

Unveiling surgical expertise through machine learning in a novel VR/AR spinal simulator: A multilayered approach using transfer learning and connection weights analysis.

BACKGROUND: Virtual and augmented reality surgical simulators, integrated with machine learning, are becoming essential for training psychomotor skills, and analyzing surgical performance. Despite the promise of methods like the Connection Weights Algorithm, the small sample sizes (small number of participants (N)) typical of these trials challenge the generalizability and robustness of models. Approaches like data augmentation and transfer learning from models trained on similar surgical tasks address these limitations. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the efficacy of artificial neural network and transfer learning algorithms in evaluating virtual surgical performances, applied to a simulated oblique lateral lumbar interbody fusion technique in an augmented and virtual reality simulator. DESIGN: The study developed and integrated artificial neural network algorithms within a novel simulator platform, using data from the simulated tasks to generate 276 performance metrics across motion, safety, and efficiency. Innovatively, it applies transfer learning from a pre-trained ANN model developed for a similar spinal simulator, enhancing the training process, and addressing the challenge of small datasets. SETTING: Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Lab; Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-seven participants divided into 3 groups: 9 post-residents, 6 senior and 12 junior residents. RESULTS: Two models, a stand-alone model trained from scratch and another leveraging transfer learning, were trained on nine selected surgical metrics achieving 75 % and 87.5 % testing accuracy respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a novel blueprint for addressing limited datasets in surgical simulations through the strategic use of transfer learning and data augmentation. It also evaluates and reinforces the application of the Connection Weights Algorithm from our previous publication. Together, these methodologies not only enhance the precision of performance classification but also advance the validation of surgical training platforms.

Face, content, and construct validity of a novel VR/AR surgical simulator of a minimally invasive spine operation.

Mixed-reality surgical simulators are seen more objective than conventional training. The simulators' utility in training must be established through validation studies. Establish face-, content-, and construct-validity of a novel mixed-reality surgical simulator developed by McGill University, CAE-Healthcare, and DePuy Synthes. This study, approved by a Research Ethics Board, examined a simulated L4-L5 oblique lateral lumbar interbody fusion (OLLIF) scenario. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was used. Chi-square test verified validity consensus. Construct validity investigated 276 surgical performance metrics across three groups, using ANOVA, Welch-ANOVA, or Kruskal-Wallis tests. A post-hoc Dunn's test with a Bonferroni correction was used for further analysis on significant metrics. Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Lab, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. DePuy Synthes, Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, research lab. Thirty-four participants were recruited: spine surgeons, fellows, neurosurgical, and orthopedic residents. Only seven surgeons out of the 34 were recruited in a side-by-side cadaver trial, where participants completed an OLLIF surgery first on a cadaver and then immediately on the simulator. Participants were separated a priori into three groups: post-, senior-, and junior-residents. Post-residents rated validity, median > 3, for 13/20 face-validity and 9/25 content-validity statements. Seven face-validity and 12 content-validity statements were rated neutral. Chi-square test indicated agreeability between group responses. Construct validity found eight metrics with significant differences (p < 0.05) between the three groups. Validity was established. Most face-validity statements were positively rated, with few neutrally rated pertaining to the simulation's graphics. Although fewer content-validity statements were validated, most were rated neutral (only four were negatively rated). The findings underscored the importance of using realistic physics-based forces in surgical simulations. Construct validity demonstrated the simulator's capacity to differentiate surgical expertise.

Continuous Instrument Tracking in a Cerebral Corticectomy Ex Vivo Calf Brain Simulation Model: Face and Content Validation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Subpial corticectomy involving complete lesion resection while preserving pial membranes and avoiding injury to adjacent normal tissues is an essential bimanual task necessary for neurosurgical trainees to master. We sought to develop an ex vivo calf brain corticectomy simulation model with continuous assessment of surgical instrument movement during the simulation. A case series study of skilled participants was performed to assess face and content validity to gain insights into the utility of this training platform, along with determining if skilled and less skilled participants had statistical differences in validity assessment. METHODS: An ex vivo calf brain simulation model was developed in which trainees performed a subpial corticectomy of three defined areas. A case series study assessed face and content validity of the model using 7-point Likert scale questionnaires. RESULTS: Twelve skilled and 11 less skilled participants were included in this investigation. Overall median scores of 6.0 (range 4.0-6.0) for face validity and 6.0 (range 3.5-7.0) for content validity were determined on the 7-point Likert scale, with no statistical differences between skilled and less skilled groups identified. CONCLUSION: A novel ex vivo calf brain simulator was developed to replicate the subpial resection procedure and demonstrated face and content validity.

Effect of Feedback Modality on Simulated Surgical Skills Learning Using Automated Educational Systems- A Four-Arm Randomized Control Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To explore optimal feedback methodologies to enhance trainee skill acquisition in simulated surgical bimanual skills learning during brain tumor resections. HYPOTHESES: (1) Providing feedback results in better learning outcomes in teaching surgical technical skill when compared to practice alone with no tailored performance feedback. (2) Providing more visual and visuospatial feedback results in better learning outcomes when compared to providing numerical feedback. DESIGN: A prospective 4-parallel-arm randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre, McGill University, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Medical students (n = 120) from 4 Quebec medical schools. RESULTS: Participants completed a virtually simulated tumor resection task 5 times while receiving 1 of 4 feedback based on their group allocation: (1) practice-alone without feedback, (2) numerical feedback, (3) visual feedback, and (4) visuospatial feedback. Outcome measures were participants' scores on 14-performance metrics and the number of expert benchmarks achieved during each task. There were no significant differences in the first task which determined baseline performance. A statistically significant interaction between feedback allocation and task repetition was found on the number of benchmarks achieved, F (10.558, 408.257)=3.220, p < 0.001. Participants in all feedback groups significantly improved their performance compared to baseline. The visual feedback group achieved significantly higher number of benchmarks than the practice-alone group by the third repetition of the task, p = 0.005, 95%CI [0.42 3.25]. Visual feedback and visuospatial feedback improved performance significantly by the second repetition of the task, p = 0.016, 95%CI [0.19 2.71] and p = 0.003, 95%CI [0.4 2.57], respectively. CONCLUSION: Simulations with autonomous visual computer assistance may be effective pedagogical tools in teaching bimanual operative skills via visual and visuospatial feedback information delivery.

From Canadian Surgeon to Chinese Martyr: Dr. Norman Bethune and the Making of a Medical Folk Hero.

This paper reexamines the public memory of Canadian surgeon Norman Bethune. In 1938, Bethune traveled to China to serve at the communist front and to treat soldiers fighting against the invading Japanese army. Throughout China, Bethune is a household name and a communist icon. Back in Canada, however, his name does not evoke the same ubiquity. While Canadians remembered Bethune through biographies, a film, statues, and a small museum, his story in the Anglophone world is confined primarily to the telling of distant history. To explain Bethune's greater notoriety and public presence in China, this essay first turns our attention to Chinese sources that mythologized Bethune's death in 1939. The essay then revisits Chinese propaganda that established Bethune as a lasting political symbol during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s. These national efforts show how a volunteer surgeon such as Bethune became such an important figure in a remote foreign country. China's Communist Party turned Bethune's death into a political event to rally support for their war of resistance against Japan. Later, during the tumultuous period of the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong used Bethune to symbolize unwavering service and loyalty to leader and party. This essay utilizes primary materials in McGill's Osler Library and commentary from the field of memory studies to contextualize Bethune and to situate him within the broader narrative of political education that arose in China during the Cultural Revolution. A layered interpretation of Bethune - as doctor, martyr, and symbolic hero - slowly emerges. Political forces in China transformed his memory into legacy and carry this complicated figure into the present day.

AI in Surgical Curriculum Design and Unintended Outcomes for Technical Competencies in Simulation Training.

Importance: To better elucidate the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in surgical skills training requires investigations in the potential existence of a hidden curriculum. Objective: To assess the pedagogical value of AI-selected technical competencies and their extended effects in surgical simulation training. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study was a follow-up of a randomized clinical trial conducted at the Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Surgical performance metrics of medical students exposed to an AI-enhanced training curriculum were compared with a control group of participants who received no feedback and with expert benchmarks. Cross-sectional data were collected from January to April 2021 from medical students and from March 2015 to May 2016 from experts. This follow-up secondary analysis was conducted from June to September 2022. Participants included medical students (undergraduate year 0-2) in the intervention cohorts and neurosurgeons to establish expertise benchmarks. Exposure: Performance assessment and personalized feedback by an intelligent tutor on 4 AI-selected learning objectives during simulation training. Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes of interest were unintended performance outcomes, measured by significant within-participant difference from baseline in 270 performance metrics in the intervention cohort that was not observed in the control cohort. Results: A total of 46 medical students (median [range] age, 22 [18-27] years; 27 [59%] women) and 14 surgeons (median [range] age, 45 [35-59] years; 14 [100%] men) were included in this study, and no participant was lost to follow-up. Feedback on 4 AI-selected technical competencies was associated with additional performance change in 32 metrics over the entire procedure and 20 metrics during tumor removal that was not observed in the control group. Participants exposed to the AI-enhanced curriculum demonstrated significant improvement in safety metrics, such as reducing the rate of healthy tissue removal (mean difference, -7.05 × 10-5 [95% CI, -1.09 × 10-4 to -3.14 × 10-5] mm3 per 20 ms; P < .001) and maintaining a focused bimanual control of the operative field (mean difference in maximum instrument divergence, -4.99 [95% CI, -8.48 to -1.49] mm, P = .006) compared with the control group. However, negative unintended effects were also observed. These included a significantly lower velocity and acceleration in the dominant hand (velocity: mean difference, -0.13 [95% CI, -0.17 to -0.09] mm per 20 ms; P < .001; acceleration: mean difference, -2.25 × 10-2 [95% CI, -3.20 × 10-2 to -1.31 × 10-2] mm per 20 ms2; P < .001) and a significant reduction in the rate of tumor removal (mean difference, -4.85 × 10-5 [95% CI, -7.22 × 10-5 to -2.48 × 10-5] mm3 per 20 ms; P < .001) compared with control. These unintended outcomes diverged students' movement and efficiency performance metrics away from the expertise benchmarks. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of medical students, an AI-enhanced curriculum for bimanual surgical skills resulted in unintended changes that improved performance in safety but negatively affected some efficiency metrics. Incorporating AI in course design requires ongoing assessment to maintain transparency and foster evidence-based learning objectives.

Performance in a Simulated Virtual Reality Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Task: Disc Residual, Rate of Removal, and Efficiency Analyses.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is among the most common spine procedures. The Sim-Ortho virtual reality simulator platform contains a validated ACDF simulated task for performance assessment. This study aims to develop a methodology to extract three-dimensional data and reconstruct and quantitate specific simulated disc tissues to generate novel metrics to analyze performance metrics of skilled and less skilled participants. METHODS: We used open-source platforms to develop a methodology to extract three-dimensional information from ACDF simulation data. Metrics generated included, efficiency index, disc volumes removed from defined regions, and rate of tissue removal from superficial, central, and deep disc regions. A pilot study was performed to assess the utility of this methodology to assess expertise during the ACDF simulated procedure. RESULTS: The system outlined, extracts data allowing the development of a methodology which accurately reconstructs and quantitates 3-dimensional disc volumes. In the pilot study, data sets from 27 participants, divided into postresident, resident, and medical student groups, allowed assessment of multiple novel metrics, including efficiency index (surgical time spent in actively removing disc), where the postresident group spent 61.8% of their time compared with 53% and 30.2% for the resident and medical student groups, respectively ( P = .01). During the annulotomy component, the postresident group removed 47.4% more disc than the resident groups and 102% more than the medical student groups ( P = .03). CONCLUSION: The methodology developed in this study generates novel surgical procedural metrics from 3-dimensional data generated by virtual reality simulators and can be used to assess surgical performance.

Artificial Neural Network Approach to Competency-Based Training Using a Virtual Reality Neurosurgical Simulation.

BACKGROUND: The methodology of assessment and training of surgical skills is evolving to deal with the emergence of competency-based training. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), a branch of artificial intelligence, can use newly generated metrics not only for assessment performance but also to quantitate individual metric importance and provide new insights into surgical expertise. OBJECTIVE: To outline the educational utility of using an ANN in the assessment and quantitation of surgical expertise. A virtual reality vertebral osteophyte removal during a simulated surgical spine procedure is used as a model to outline this methodology. METHODS: Twenty-one participants performed a simulated anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion on the Sim-Ortho virtual reality simulator. Participants were divided into 3 groups, including 9 postresidents, 5 senior residents, and 7 junior residents. Data were retrieved from the osteophyte removal component of the scenario, which involved using a simulated burr. The data were manipulated to initially generate 83 performance metrics spanning 3 categories (safety, efficiency, and motion) of which only the most relevant metrics were used to train and test the ANN. RESULTS: The ANN model was trained on 6 safety metrics to a testing accuracy of 83.3%. The contributions of these performance metrics to expertise were revealed through connection weight products and outlined 2 identifiable learning patterns of technical skills. CONCLUSION: This study outlines the potential utility of ANNs which allows a deeper understanding of the composites of surgical expertise and may contribute to the paradigm shift toward competency-based surgical training.

Assessment of learning curves on a simulated neurosurgical task using metrics selected by artificial intelligence.

OBJECTIVE: Understanding the variation of learning curves of experts and trainees for a given surgical procedure is important in implementing formative learning paradigms to accelerate mastery. The study objectives were to use artificial intelligence (AI)-derived metrics to determine the learning curves of participants in 4 groups with different expertise levels who performed a series of identical virtual reality (VR) subpial resection tasks and to identify learning curve differences among the 4 groups. METHODS: A total of 50 individuals participated, 14 neurosurgeons, 4 neurosurgical fellows and 10 senior residents (seniors), 10 junior residents (juniors), and 12 medical students. All participants performed 5 repetitions of a subpial tumor resection on the NeuroVR (CAE Healthcare) platform, and 6 a priori-derived metrics selected using the K-nearest neighbors machine learning algorithm were used to assess participant learning curves. Group learning curves were plotted over the 5 trials for each metric. A mixed, repeated-measures ANOVA was performed between the first and fifth trial. For significant interactions (p < 0.05), post hoc Tukey's HSD analysis was conducted to determine the location of the significance. RESULTS: Overall, 5 of the 6 metrics assessed had a significant interaction (p < 0.05). The 4 groups, neurosurgeons, seniors, juniors, and medical students, showed an improvement between the first and fifth trial on at least one of the 6 metrics evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: Learning curves generated using AI-derived metrics provided novel insights into technical skill acquisition, based on expertise level, during repeated VR-simulated subpial tumor resections, which will allow educators to develop more focused formative educational paradigms for neurosurgical trainees.

Effect of Artificial Intelligence Tutoring vs Expert Instruction on Learning Simulated Surgical Skills Among Medical Students: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: To better understand the emerging role of artificial intelligence (AI) in surgical training, efficacy of AI tutoring systems, such as the Virtual Operative Assistant (VOA), must be tested and compared with conventional approaches. Objective: To determine how VOA and remote expert instruction compare in learners' skill acquisition, affective, and cognitive outcomes during surgical simulation training. Design, Setting, and Participants: This instructor-blinded randomized clinical trial included medical students (undergraduate years 0-2) from 4 institutions in Canada during a single simulation training at McGill Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre, Montreal, Canada. Cross-sectional data were collected from January to April 2021. Analysis was conducted based on intention-to-treat. Data were analyzed from April to June 2021. Interventions: The interventions included 5 feedback sessions, 5 minutes each, during a single 75-minute training, including 5 practice sessions followed by 1 realistic virtual reality brain tumor resection. The 3 intervention arms included 2 treatment groups, AI audiovisual metric-based feedback (VOA group) and synchronous verbal scripted debriefing and instruction from a remote expert (instructor group), and a control group that received no feedback. Main Outcomes and Measures: The coprimary outcomes were change in procedural performance, quantified as Expertise Score by a validated assessment algorithm (Intelligent Continuous Expertise Monitoring System [ICEMS]; range, -1.00 to 1.00) for each practice resection, and learning and retention, measured from performance in realistic resections by ICEMS and blinded Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS; range 1-7). Secondary outcomes included strength of emotions before, during, and after the intervention and cognitive load after intervention, measured in self-reports. Results: A total of 70 medical students (41 [59%] women and 29 [41%] men; mean [SD] age, 21.8 [2.3] years) from 4 institutions were randomized, including 23 students in the VOA group, 24 students in the instructor group, and 23 students in the control group. All participants were included in the final analysis. ICEMS assessed 350 practice resections, and ICEMS and OSATS evaluated 70 realistic resections. VOA significantly improved practice Expertise Scores by 0.66 (95% CI, 0.55 to 0.77) points compared with the instructor group and by 0.65 (95% CI, 0.54 to 0.77) points compared with the control group (P < .001). Realistic Expertise Scores were significantly higher for the VOA group compared with instructor (mean difference, 0.53 [95% CI, 0.40 to 0.67] points; P < .001) and control (mean difference. 0.49 [95% CI, 0.34 to 0.61] points; P < .001) groups. Mean global OSATS ratings were not statistically significant among the VOA (4.63 [95% CI, 4.06 to 5.20] points), instructor (4.40 [95% CI, 3.88-4.91] points), and control (3.86 [95% CI, 3.44 to 4.27] points) groups. However, on the OSATS subscores, VOA significantly enhanced the mean OSATS overall subscore compared with the control group (mean difference, 1.04 [95% CI, 0.13 to 1.96] points; P = .02), whereas expert instruction significantly improved OSATS subscores for instrument handling vs control (mean difference, 1.18 [95% CI, 0.22 to 2.14]; P = .01). No significant differences in cognitive load, positive activating, and negative emotions were found. Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial, VOA feedback demonstrated superior performance outcome and skill transfer, with equivalent OSATS ratings and cognitive and emotional responses compared with remote expert instruction, indicating advantages for its use in simulation training. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04700384.

Best Practices Using Ex Vivo Animal Brain Models in Neurosurgical Education to Assess Surgical Expertise.

BACKGROUND: Ex vivo animal brain simulation models are being increasingly used for neurosurgical training because these models can replicate human brain conditions. The goal of the present report is to provide the neurosurgical community interested in using ex vivo animal brain simulation models with guidelines for comprehensively and rigorously conducting, documenting, and assessing this type of research. METHODS: In consultation with an interdisciplinary group of physicians and researchers involved in ex vivo models and a review of the literature on the best practices guidelines for simulation research, we developed the "ex vivo brain model to assess surgical expertise" (EVBMASE) checklist. The EVBMASE checklist provides a comprehensive quantitative framework for analyzing and reporting studies involving these models. We applied The EVBMASE checklist to the studies reported of ex vivo animal brain models to document how current ex vivo brain simulation models are used to train surgical expertise. RESULTS: The EVBMASE checklist includes defined subsections and a total score of 20, which can help investigators improve studies and provide readers with techniques to better assess the quality and any deficiencies of the research. We classified 18 published ex vivo brain models into modified (group 1) and nonmodified (group 2) models. The mean total EVBMASE score was 11 (55%) for group 1 and 4.8 (24.2%) for group 2, a statistically significant difference (P = 0.006) mainly attributed to differences in the simulation study design section (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The present findings should help contribute to more rigorous application, documentation, and assessment of ex vivo brain simulation research.

Utilizing a multilayer perceptron artificial neural network to assess a virtual reality surgical procedure.

BACKGROUND: Virtual reality surgical simulators are a safe and efficient technology for the assessment and training of surgical skills. Simulators allow trainees to improve specific surgical techniques in risk-free environments. Recently, machine learning has been coupled to simulators to classify performance. However, most studies fail to extract meaningful observations behind the classifications and the impact of specific surgical metrics on the performance. One benefit from integrating machine learning algorithms, such as Artificial Neural Networks, to simulators is the ability to extract novel insights into the composites of the surgical performance that differentiate levels of expertise. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to demonstrate the benefits of artificial neural network algorithms in assessing and analyzing virtual surgical performances. This study applies the algorithm on a virtual reality simulated annulus incision task during an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion scenario. DESIGN: An artificial neural network algorithm was developed and integrated. Participants performed the simulated surgical procedure on the Sim-Ortho simulator. Data extracted from the annulus incision task were extracted to generate 157 surgical performance metrics that spanned three categories (motion, safety, and efficiency). SETTING: Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Lab; Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Center, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-three participants were recruited and divided into 3 groups: 11 post-residents, 5 senior and 7 junior residents. RESULTS: An artificial neural network model was trained on nine selected surgical metrics, spanning all three categories and achieved 80% testing accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: This study outlines the benefits of integrating artificial neural networks to virtual reality surgical simulators in understanding composites of expertise performance.

Virtual Reality Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Simulation on the Novel Sim-Ortho Platform: Validation Studies.

BACKGROUND: Virtual reality spine simulators are emerging as potential educational tools to assess and train surgical procedures in safe environments. Analysis of validity is important in determining the educational utility of these systems. OBJECTIVE: To assess face, content, and construct validity of a C4-C5 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion simulation on the Sim-Ortho virtual reality platform, developed by OSSimTechTM (Montreal, Canada) and the AO Foundation (Davos, Switzerland). METHODS: Spine surgeons, spine fellows, along with neurosurgical and orthopedic residents, performed a simulated C4-C5 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion on the Sim-Ortho system. Participants were separated into 3 categories: post-residents (spine surgeons and spine fellows), senior residents, and junior residents. A Likert scale was used to assess face and content validity. Construct validity was evaluated by investigating differences between the 3 groups on metrics derived from simulator data. The Kruskal-Wallis test was employed to compare groups and a post-hoc Dunn's test with a Bonferroni correction was utilized to investigate differences between groups on significant metrics. RESULTS: A total of 21 individuals were included: 9 post-residents, 5 senior residents, and 7 junior residents. The post-resident group rated face and content validity, median ≥4, for the overall procedure and at least 1 tool in each of the 4 steps. Significant differences (P < .05) were found between the post-resident group and senior and/or junior residents on at least 1 metric for each component of the simulation. CONCLUSION: The C4-C5 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion simulation on the Sim-Ortho platform demonstrated face, content, and construct validity suggesting its utility as a formative educational tool.

Machine learning distinguishes neurosurgical skill levels in a virtual reality tumor resection task.

This study outlines the first investigation of application of machine learning to distinguish "skilled" and "novice" psychomotor performance during a virtual reality (VR) brain tumor resection task. Tumor resection task participants included 23 neurosurgeons and senior neurosurgery residents as the "skilled" group and 92 junior neurosurgery residents and medical students as the "novice" group. The task involved removing a series of virtual brain tumors without causing injury to surrounding tissue. Originally, 150 features were extracted followed by statistical and forward feature selection. The selected features were provided to 4 classifiers, namely, K-Nearest Neighbors, Parzen Window, Support Vector Machine, and Fuzzy K-Nearest Neighbors. Sets of 5 to 30 selected features were provided to the classifiers. A working point of 15 premium features resulted in accuracy values as high as 90% using the Supprt Vector Machine. The obtained results highlight the potentials of machine learning, applied to VR simulation data, to help realign the traditional apprenticeship educational paradigm to a more objective model, based on proven performance standards. Graphical abstract Using several scenarios of virtual reality neurosurgical tumor resection together with machine learning classifiers to distinguish skill level.

Roadmap for Developing Complex Virtual Reality Simulation Scenarios: Subpial Neurosurgical Tumor Resection Model.

BACKGROUND: Advancement and evolution of current virtual reality (VR) surgical simulation technologies are integral to improve the available armamentarium of surgical skill education. This is especially important in high-risk surgical specialties. Such fields including neurosurgery are beginning to explore the utilization of virtual reality simulation in the assessment and training of psychomotor skills. An important issue facing the available VR simulation technologies is the lack of complexity of scenarios that fail to replicate the visual and haptic realities of complex neurosurgical procedures. Therefore there is a need to create more realistic and complex scenarios with the appropriate visual and haptic realities to maximize the potential of virtual reality technology. METHODS: We outline a roadmap for creating complex virtual reality neurosurgical simulation scenarios using a step-wise description of our team's subpial tumor resection project as a model. RESULTS: The creation of complex neurosurgical simulations involves integrating multiple modules into a scenario-building roadmap. The components of each module are described outlining the important stages in the process of complex VR simulation creation. CONCLUSIONS: Our roadmap of a stepwise approach for the creation of complex VR-simulated neurosurgical procedures may also serve as a guide to aid the development of other VR scenarios in a variety of surgical fields. The generation of new VR complex simulated neurosurgical procedures, by surgeons for surgeons, with the help of computer scientists and engineers may improve the assessment and training of residents and ultimately improve patient care.

The Virtual Operative Assistant: An explainable artificial intelligence tool for simulation-based training in surgery and medicine.

Simulation-based training is increasingly being used for assessment and training of psychomotor skills involved in medicine. The application of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies has provided new methodologies to utilize large amounts of data for educational purposes. A significant criticism of the use of artificial intelligence in education has been a lack of transparency in the algorithms' decision-making processes. This study aims to 1) introduce a new framework using explainable artificial intelligence for simulation-based training in surgery, and 2) validate the framework by creating the Virtual Operative Assistant, an automated educational feedback platform. Twenty-eight skilled participants (14 staff neurosurgeons, 4 fellows, 10 PGY 4-6 residents) and 22 novice participants (10 PGY 1-3 residents, 12 medical students) took part in this study. Participants performed a virtual reality subpial brain tumor resection task on the NeuroVR simulator using a simulated ultrasonic aspirator and bipolar. Metrics of performance were developed, and leave-one-out cross validation was employed to train and validate a support vector machine in Matlab. The classifier was combined with a unique educational system to build the Virtual Operative Assistant which provides users with automated feedback on their metric performance with regards to expert proficiency performance benchmarks. The Virtual Operative Assistant successfully classified skilled and novice participants using 4 metrics with an accuracy, specificity and sensitivity of 92, 82 and 100%, respectively. A 2-step feedback system was developed to provide participants with an immediate visual representation of their standing related to expert proficiency performance benchmarks. The educational system outlined establishes a basis for the potential role of integrating artificial intelligence and virtual reality simulation into surgical educational teaching. The potential of linking expertise classification, objective feedback based on proficiency benchmarks, and instructor input creates a novel educational tool by integrating these three components into a formative educational paradigm.

Tremor Assessment during Virtual Reality Brain Tumor Resection.

OBJECTIVE: Assessment of physiological tremor during neurosurgical procedures may provide further insights into the composites of surgical expertise. Virtual reality platforms may provide a mechanism for the quantitative assessment of physiological tremor. In this study, a virtual reality simulator providing haptic feedback was used to study physiological tremor in a simulated tumor resection task with participants from a "skilled" group and a "novice" group. DESIGN: The task involved using a virtual ultrasonic aspirator to remove a series of virtual brain tumors with different visual and tactile characteristics without causing injury to surrounding tissue. Power spectral density analysis was employed to quantitate hand tremor during tumor resection. Statistical t test was used to determine tremor differences between the skilled and novice groups obtained from the instrument tip x, y, z coordinates, the instrument roll, pitch, yaw angles, and the instrument haptic force applied during tumor resection. SETTING: The study was conducted at the Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: The skilled group comprised 23 neurosurgeons and senior residents and the novice group comprised 92 junior residents and medical students. RESULTS: The spectral analysis allowed quantitation of physiological tremor during virtual reality tumor resection. The skilled group displayed smaller physiological tremor than the novice group in all cases. In 3 out of 7 cases the difference was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The first investigation of the application of a virtual reality platform is presented for the quantitation of physiological tremor during a virtual reality tumor resection task. The goal of introducing such methodology to assess tremor is to highlight its potential educational application in neurosurgical resident training and in helping to further define the psychomotor skill set of surgeons.