Evaluation of the OPTESK VR training simulator for gastric bleeding treatment.
12 affiliations
- 1Interventional and Experimental Endoscopy (InExEn), Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
- 2Bavarian Center for Cancer Research (BZKF), Würzburg, Germany.
- 3Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
- 4Division of Gastroenterology and Endocrinology, Centre for Internal Medicine, Philipps University of Marburg & University Hospital Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
- 5Department of Internal Medicine and Nephrology, Marburg University, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
- 6Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, Marburg University, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
- 7Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
- 8Endoscopy Research Group, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
- 9Institute of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
- 10Institute of Medical Data Science, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
- 11Private gastroenterology practice, Egnatia 106, 54622, Thessaloniki, Greece.
- 12Interventional and Experimental Endoscopy (InExEn), Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract is a common and potentially life-threatening emergency that requires rapid and highly precise endoscopic intervention. As supervised hands-on training is limited and often restricted to living animal models, an immersive virtual reality (VR) simulation offers a risk-free and accessible alternative.Methods
A novel open-source VR training simulator, OPTESK, was developed for the treatment of upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. The system consists of a combination of conventional endoscopes used in routine clinical practice, which can be operated in conjunction with commercially available head-mounted displays and the in-house developed OPTESK hardware. The simulator covers two scenarios: the treatment of a non-bleeding angiodysplasia with argon plasma coagulation (APC) and the treatment of a bleeding angiodysplasia starting with the injection of adrenaline followed by APC therapy. The simulator was evaluated in a multicenter user study in terms of workload, usability, immersion, cybersickness, and face, content, and construct validity. User performance was assessed via scores on time, amount of treated area, and correctly applied APC intensity.Results
In total, 44 participants from more than 20 centers were included in the study. Successful hemostatic control in the second scenario was achieved by 97.4% of the participants. Regarding the content validity, participants rated the helpfulness of the simulator for training the management of bleeding with a median of 4 on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Mean perceived workload (NASA-TLX) and usability (SUS) were rated with 34.2/100 and 69.6/100 respectively. Face validity questions regarding the realism of endoscope movement, stomach anatomy, and application of APC were further rated with a median of 4 on the scale from 1 to 5. Regarding construct validity, gastroscopy experience showed significantly faster treatment of bleeding related tasks for both scenario one (p = .008) and two (p = .011) compared to participants with less gastroscopy experience.Conclusions
OPTESK can serve as a valuable training tool for endoscopic treatment of bleeding in the upper GI tract. This approach may help reduce dependence on animal-based training and enable risk-free practice prior to clinical intervention.
Related
- Hemospray for Pancreatic Cancer-Related Gastric Bleeding
- Hemostatic Response to Palliative Radiotherapy for Bleeding Gastric Cancer and Pretreatment Endoscopic Characteristics: A Retrospective Cohort Study
- Gastric teratoma presenting as gastrointestinal bleeding in a neonate: a case report and review of literature.
- Virtual reality surgical simulator training of residents and early-career surgeons for pedicle screw placement: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Late Delayed Bleeding After Gastric ESD with Esomeprazole/Sodium Bicarbonate Versus Conventional Esomeprazole, and Artificial Ulcer Healing with Esomeprazole/Sodium Bicarbonate: A Retrospective Cohort Study
BibTeX
@article{kohler2026evaluation,
title = {{Evaluation of the OPTESK VR training simulator for gastric bleeding treatment.}},
author = {Annika Köhler and Irshath Ali Syed and Jana Sophia Theile and Ioannis Kafetzis and Joel Troya and Jan-Peter Grunz and Ulrike W Denzer and Ivica Grgic and Benjamin M Walter and Rüdiger Pryss and Stavros Dimitriadis and Alexander Hann},
journal = {Bioelectronic medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1186/s42234-026-00216-w},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897699},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Evaluation of the OPTESK VR training simulator for gastric bleeding treatment.
AU - Annika Köhler
AU - Irshath Ali Syed
AU - Jana Sophia Theile
AU - Ioannis Kafetzis
AU - Joel Troya
AU - Jan-Peter Grunz
AU - Ulrike W Denzer
AU - Ivica Grgic
AU - Benjamin M Walter
AU - Rüdiger Pryss
AU - Stavros Dimitriadis
AU - Alexander Hann
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Bioelectronic medicine
DO - 10.1186/s42234-026-00216-w
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897699
AB - Background Bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract is a common and potentially life-threatening emergency that requires rapid and highly precise endoscopic intervention. As supervised hands-on training is limited and often restricted to living animal models, an immersive virtual reality (VR) simulation offers a risk-free and accessible alternative.Methods A novel open-source VR training simulator, OPTESK, was developed for the treatment of upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. The system consists of a combination of conventional endoscopes used in routine clinical practice, which can be operated in conjunction with commercially available head-mounted displays and the in-house developed OPTESK hardware. The simulator covers two scenarios: the treatment of a non-bleeding angiodysplasia with argon plasma coagulation (APC) and the treatment of a bleeding angiodysplasia starting with the injection of adrenaline followed by APC therapy. The simulator was evaluated in a multicenter user study in terms of workload, usability, immersion, cybersickness, and face, content, and construct validity. User performance was assessed via scores on time, amount of treated area, and correctly applied APC intensity.Results In total, 44 participants from more than 20 centers were included in the study. Successful hemostatic control in the second scenario was achieved by 97.4% of the participants. Regarding the content validity, participants rated the helpfulness of the simulator for training the management of bleeding with a median of 4 on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Mean perceived workload (NASA-TLX) and usability (SUS) were rated with 34.2/100 and 69.6/100 respectively. Face validity questions regarding the realism of endoscope movement, stomach anatomy, and application of APC were further rated with a median of 4 on the scale from 1 to 5. Regarding construct validity, gastroscopy experience showed significantly faster treatment of bleeding related tasks for both scenario one (p = .008) and two (p = .011) compared to participants with less gastroscopy experience.Conclusions OPTESK can serve as a valuable training tool for endoscopic treatment of bleeding in the upper GI tract. This approach may help reduce dependence on animal-based training and enable risk-free practice prior to clinical intervention.
SN - 2332-8886
ER -