EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/78708
12 EW NEWS & OPINION June 2012 New continued from page 11 guided, self-correcting curriculum that requires trainees to make deci- sions based on realistic surgical situ- ations. The simulator, which can be accessed from any personal com- puter, contains realistic animations along with videos of actual surgeries, complete with expert discussions of each phase of the procedure. The interactive program includes frequent pop-up questions relating to the various surgical steps with user answers then animated on- screen. If the user makes a serious error, videos provide immediate feedback explaining how the prob- lem occurred, what to do to fix it, and how to avoid making the same mistake again. "This essentially allows new phaco surgeons to learn from their mistakes and to master life-like sur- gery without risking injury to a pa- tient," said Dr. Henderson. "This type of immersion learning is simply not possible any other way and pro- vides an excellent transition to the operating room." To test its effectiveness, the de- velopers conducted a multicenter, randomized trial at eight residency programs, which compared the Cataract Master to traditional teach- ing tools. Results showed that resi- dents enjoyed using the program and preferred its method of learning. The study results were published in the journal Ophthalmology in February 2010. "The Cataract Master is a unique and original instructional tool for phacoemulsification cataract sur- gery. The animated simulation provides a realistic interactive expe- rience, with advice along the way via video clips of experts in the field, based on trainee surgical decisions during the exercise. It is an out- standing tool to teach thought processes and decision-making dur- ing cataract surgery, highly recom- mended for ophthalmology resident training," said Anthony Arnold, M.D., residency program director, Jules Stein Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, UCLA. The Cataract Master is available through an annual subscription arrangement and promotes rapid learning while also reducing training cost and scheduling time. It is an ideal tool for those just learning phaco and those who wish to hone their skills and better manage surgi- cal complications. A full help and reference section is included. A demonstration of the Cataract Master, along with a free trial, is available at www.cataractmaster.org. Funding for the development of this teaching tool was provided by the Massachusetts Lions, the Norman Knight Foundation, grants from the U.S. Army, and the Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology. EW Contact information Mary Leach, Massachusetts Eye and Ear public affairs: mary_leach@meei.harvard.edu Sebrell: csebrell@ascrs.org