Influence of Regular Video Game Play on the Basic Skills of Arthroscopic Surgery - Results of a Prospective Study.
- 1Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charité, University Hospital Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- 2Department of General Orthopaedics and Tumororthopaedics, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
- 3Sporthopaedicum Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Abstract
Introduction
The increasing demand for arthroscopic procedures, combined with limited access to affordable training opportunities, emphasizes the need to explore alternative methods for developing essential surgical skills. The objective of this study was to determine whether regular video game playing, known to enhance visuospatial perception and motor skills, improves initial performance on an arthroscopic box trainer and to investigate the relationship between video game proficiency and basic arthroscopic skills.Methods
This prospective study included 50 students. Participants were divided into two groups, gamers and non-gamers, based on their weekly gaming activity. Arthroscopic skills were assessed using three specific modules on an arthroscopic box trainer, while video gaming performance was assessed using Super Monkey Ball (Nintendo Wii) and Splatoon 2 (Nintendo Switch). Quantitative analyses were performed for all tasks, including time and error rates.Results
Fifty participants (76% male, 24% female; age 19-30 years) were analyzed. Gamers performed significantly better in Splatoon (p < 0.001), while differences in Super Monkey Ball were not significant (p = 0.172). In the arthroscopy modules, completion times and error rates did not differ significantly between groups. A significant correlation was observed between Super Monkey Ball scores and the Numbers module (r = -0.418, p = 0.003) as well as overall arthroscopy performance (r = -0.356, p = 0.011), indicating that higher scores were associated with shorter completion times and better performance.Conclusions
The study did not confirm that regular video gaming improves initial performance on an arthroscopic box trainer. However, the observed associations between specific video game performance measures and arthroscopic performance suggest that gaming may support the development of skills relevant to minimally invasive surgery.Level of evidence
Level II, Prospective comparative study.Supplementary information
The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-026-02827-z.
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BibTeX
@article{folkerts2026influence,
title = {{Influence of Regular Video Game Play on the Basic Skills of Arthroscopic Surgery - Results of a Prospective Study.}},
author = {Tom Folkerts and Lorena Günter and Georg Gosheger and Carolin Rickert and Dennis Liem},
journal = {Medical science educator},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1007/s40670-026-02827-z},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42968852},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Influence of Regular Video Game Play on the Basic Skills of Arthroscopic Surgery - Results of a Prospective Study.
AU - Tom Folkerts
AU - Lorena Günter
AU - Georg Gosheger
AU - Carolin Rickert
AU - Dennis Liem
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/20
JO - Medical science educator
DO - 10.1007/s40670-026-02827-z
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42968852
AB - Introduction The increasing demand for arthroscopic procedures, combined with limited access to affordable training opportunities, emphasizes the need to explore alternative methods for developing essential surgical skills. The objective of this study was to determine whether regular video game playing, known to enhance visuospatial perception and motor skills, improves initial performance on an arthroscopic box trainer and to investigate the relationship between video game proficiency and basic arthroscopic skills.Methods This prospective study included 50 students. Participants were divided into two groups, gamers and non-gamers, based on their weekly gaming activity. Arthroscopic skills were assessed using three specific modules on an arthroscopic box trainer, while video gaming performance was assessed using Super Monkey Ball (Nintendo Wii) and Splatoon 2 (Nintendo Switch). Quantitative analyses were performed for all tasks, including time and error rates.Results Fifty participants (76% male, 24% female; age 19-30 years) were analyzed. Gamers performed significantly better in Splatoon (p < 0.001), while differences in Super Monkey Ball were not significant (p = 0.172). In the arthroscopy modules, completion times and error rates did not differ significantly between groups. A significant correlation was observed between Super Monkey Ball scores and the Numbers module (r = -0.418, p = 0.003) as well as overall arthroscopy performance (r = -0.356, p = 0.011), indicating that higher scores were associated with shorter completion times and better performance.Conclusions The study did not confirm that regular video gaming improves initial performance on an arthroscopic box trainer. However, the observed associations between specific video game performance measures and arthroscopic performance suggest that gaming may support the development of skills relevant to minimally invasive surgery.Level of evidence Level II, Prospective comparative study.Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-026-02827-z.
SN - 2156-8650
ER -