Construct, Face, and Content Validation on Voxel-Man® Simulator for Otologic Surgical Training

Abstract EN

Objective.

To assess the face, content, and construct validity of the Voxel-Man TempoSurg Virtual Reality simulator.

Participants and Methods.

74 ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeons participated.

They were assigned to one of two groups according to their level of expertise: the expert group (n=16) and the novice group (n=58).

The participants performed four temporal bone dissection tasks on the simulator.

Performances were assessed by a global score and then compared to assess the construct validity of the simulator.

Finally, the expert group assessed the face and content validity by means of a five-point Likert-type scale.

Results.

experienced surgeons performed better (p<.01) and faster (p<.001) than the novices.

However, the groups did not differ in terms of bone volume removed (p=.11) or number of injuries (p=.37).

93.7% of experienced surgeons stated they would recommend this simulator for anatomical learning.

Most (87.5%) also thought that it could be integrated into surgical training.

Conclusion.

The Voxel-Man TempoSurg Virtual Reality simulator constitutes an interesting complementary tool to traditional teaching methods for training in otologic surgery.