The News
Surgeons who play video games more skilled
CNN, POSTED: 4:03 p.m. EST, February 19, 2007

CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- Playing video games appears to help surgeons with skills that truly count: how well they operate using a precise technique, a study said Monday. There was a strong correlation between video game skills and a surgeon's capabilities performing laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopy and related surgeries involve manipulating instruments through a small incision or body opening where the surgeon's movements are guided by watching a television screen. Video game skills translated into higher scores on a day-and-half-long surgical skills test, and the correlation was much higher than the surgeon's length of training or prior experience in laparoscopic surgery, the study said.


The Research
Read the research behind this story in Archives of Surgery.