Conference Brings Together Surgery and Video Games

obchrisj writes "FileFront has an interesting write-up on the theory that people who play video games become better surgeons. Quotes from Dr. James C. Rosser Jr., the man behind the idea, and details from the 'Video Game/Entertainment Industry Technology and Medicine' 2004 conference are included."

Dr. Mario

[AtariAmarok]

At last the struggle to list Dr Mario [galeon.com] as an educational expense is over!

Video Games Calm kids before Surgery as well...

[shamowfski]

And sort of related, this article [cnn.com] at cnn shows how video games help to calm children before surgery.

wired concurs

[supersuckers]

wired has an article [wired.com]with some facts backing this up

Surgeons who play video games three hours a week have 37 percent fewer errors and accomplish tasks 27 percent faster, he says, basing his observation on results of tests using the video game Super Monkey Ball.

Solid.

[deemaunik]

Now if I could just get over that whole hemophobia thing.

It must depend on the game you play

[CrazyJim1]

Some stupid RPGS where you just click won't help you advance as much as a FPS. And I'm sure Dance Dance Revolution is one of the last things I want on my surgeons mind.

Oh and anyone remember that surgeon game that was released like 1990, where you gave your patient gas and then performed surgery on them?

Re:It must depend on the game you play

[McKinney83]

I believe the game you're refering to is "Life and Death"

I used to play it all the time (I was 7), and would just have fun poking people, and putting them under.

you can find it Here [mosw.com] they want $4.00 for it.

Whoa!

[JNighthawk]

Slow down with those surgeries! I can't have you breaking my high score, now, can I?

Chainsaw!

[theREALMcCoy]

If I ever go under the knife, I hope my surgeon has steered clear of Doom.

The last thing I want to hear as I drift into a drug induced slumber is the reving of a chainsaw...

Nintendo DS

[dsparil]

Wasn't there a Japanese DS game being developed where you performed surgery and had to talk to the patient using the built in voice recognision.

Re:Nintendo DS

[theREALMcCoy]

There are actually two surgery games in dev for the DS.

Does this mean....

[LordPhantom]

...that Lesiure Suit Larry will help plastic surgeons?

Freaky.

[keyne9]

After testing out more than 100 games, it came down to three that made a noticeable difference:

Super Monkey Ball, Silent Scope, and Star Wars: Episode I Racer.

Is it just me, or is it vaguely unsettling that your doctor may be getting his "l33t skillz" with surgery from shooting people in Silent Scope? ...from rolling around an entrapped primate in a bubble, tossing it to and fro? ...evading Star Wars pods? :)

Don't get me wrong, hand/eye coordination benefits aside (which is pretty obvious), but it's

practice makes perfect

[WormholeFiend]

And I bet they'd be much better surgeons if they could practice their surgery skills on corpses as a hobby, too.

Surgery

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

> an interesting write-up on the theory that
> people who play video games become better
> surgeons.

I guess the less you die, the less they die.