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Surgeons Use Gaming to Improve Skills

Posted by Zonk on from the article-should-have-used-the-term-skillz dept.

The New York Times (registration required) has an analysis of several surgeons at Beth Israel Medical Center who utilize video games to improve their operating room hand-eye coordination. From the article: "The complex manual dexterity required to be a stellar video gamer and minimally invasive surgeon are strikingly similar, said Dr. Rosser, chief of minimally invasive surgery and director of the hospital's Advanced Medical Technology Institute."

6 of 36 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmm... by general_re · · Score: 4, Funny

    So if your chart says "pwned!!!1!!1", that's a good thing?

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    ABSURDITY, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.
  2. You just have to hope... by Fitzghon · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...that they haven't been playing too much Doom 3.
    DOCTOR (regarding the screen): Well, it is very dark.... And, OH MY GOD A ZOMBIE!!!! AAHHAAHH!!!111!!!1!! DIE MOTHERF*CKER!!!! oh, oops... (nervous laugh) don't worry, you can survive with only one kidney...

  3. as seen on wired, slashdot by supersuckers · · Score: 5, Informative

    hereand
    here

  4. quick! by Korgrath · · Score: 5, Funny

    "oh no! he's going into cardiac arrest! We must save him!" up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, SELECT, START. *random chime* "Phew! good work everyone!"

    --
    Theory of flight?! I'll teach you the theory of fist!!
  5. Do the slashdot editors even read these things? by cgenman · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's spelled "Skillz"

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    The ______ Agenda
  6. Alpha and Beta brainwaves by FirienFirien · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I read an article somewhere reputable (no idea where, it was about 7 or 8 years ago now) about computer gamers and enhanced skills. The factors involved were

    Coordination - better than average fine motor control skills (small-scale precision), but average large motor control (eg swinging the entire arm to a point on the wall)
    Tracking - gamers can track on average around 8 items in their field of view simultaneously, more than the general average of 5-6
    Concentration - staying focused on a task without distraction for (sometimes significantly) longer times than average.

    The study had worked with brain scans to test alpha and beta brain activity levels - alpha waves are indicative of more automatic control, beta waves are more complex. A link had been found with the skills listed above being seen in computer gamers; the gamers were far faster than average at settling from beta to alpha waves when introduced to an activity.

    The article finished off by mentioning the groups most likely to display alpha patterns - Transcendent aspirants (eg Buddhist zen masters), Sportspeople who get to The Zone (intense physical activity, all pain is completely suppressed - very useful), and high-activity computer gamers.

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    Browsing with +2 to insightful posts and a higher threshold makes the average post seen seem a lot more ingenious