Epiduroscopy is a type of spinal intervention that visualizes the epidural space through the sacral hiatus using a fiberoptic scope. However, it is technically difficult to perform compared to conventional interventions and susceptible to complications. Surgery simulator has been shown to be a promising modality for medical education. To develop the epiduroscopy simulator and prove its usefulness for epiduroscopy training, we performed a case-control study including a total of 20 physicians. The participants were classified as the expert group with more than 30 epiduroscopy experiences and the beginner group with less experience. A virtual simulator (EpiduroSIM™, BioComputing Lab, KOREATECH, Cheonan, Republic of Korea) for epiduroscopy was developed by the authors. The performance of the participants was measured by three items: time to reach a virtual target, training score, and number of times the dura and nerve are violated. The training score was better in the expert group (75.00 vs. 67.50; ). The number of violations was lower in the expert group (3.50 vs. 4.0; ). The realism of the epidural simulator was evaluated to be acceptable in 40%. Participants improved their simulator skills through repeated attempts. The epiduroscopy simulator helped participants understand the anatomical structure and actual epiduroscopy.

中文翻译：

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硬膜外窥镜模拟器作为培训工具的可行性：一项初步研究

硬膜外窥镜检查是一种脊柱介入手术，可使用光纤镜通过through裂孔可视化硬膜外腔。但是，与传统的干预措施相比，技术上很难实施并且容易引起并发症。手术模拟器已被证明是一种有前途的医学教育方式。为了开发硬膜外窥镜模拟器并证明其在硬膜外窥镜训练中的有用性，我们进行了一项病例对照研究，其中包括20位医生。参与者被分类为具有30多次硬膜外镜经验的专家组和经验较少的初学者组。作者开发了一种用于硬膜外窥镜的虚拟模拟器（EpiduroSIM™，BioComputing Lab，KOREATECH，大韩民国）。参与者的表现由三个项目衡量：达到虚拟目标所需的时间，训练得分以及硬脑膜和神经受到侵犯的次数。专家组的训练成绩更好（75.00比67.50；）。专家组中的违规次数较少（3.50比4.0；）。硬膜外模拟器的真实性被评估为40％是可以接受的。参与者通过反复尝试提高了模拟器技能。硬膜外窥镜模拟器可帮助参与者了解解剖结构和实际硬膜外窥镜。