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Can aptitude tests and video gaming skills identify the unique expertise needed to practice interventional radiology? A study comparing experts and nonexperts

2017; Elsevier BV; Volume: 28; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jvir.2016.12.1066

1535-7732

Karunakaravel Karuppasamy, L Obman, Ram Gurajala, Eunice Moon, Charles E. Martin, Jennifer Bullen,

Medical and Biological Sciences

To compare the performance of interventional radiology (IR) experts and nonexperts on a specially designed aptitude test and commercially available video games to understand their work-related cognitive capability and dexterity. Performance of practicing interventional radiologists (experts) was compared with that of nonexperts (technologists and nurses in IR department). Three experts and six nonexperts completed an aptitude test comprising 10 questions designed to test their cognitive capability related to IR. Three experts and eleven nonexperts completed three video games. The first was a computer-based game (the eyeballing game) used to assess visual perception skills [1]. The other two games were played on a Wii console [2]. Kororinpa: Marble Mania [3] was chosen to assess hand-eye coordination and was played on a Wii console using a Wii Remote (one-handed remote with motion-sensing capability) first held in the dominant hand and then in the nondominant hand; Wii Sports Resort: Archery was chosen to assess hand-to-hand coordination and was played on a Wii console using both a Wii Remote and Nunchuk (connects to Wii Remote and works in tandem) held in each hand simultaneously [4]. Performance was analyzed using a two-sample t-test. The performance of the two groups (experts and nonexperts) on the aptitude test was not significantly different (mean, 63.8% vs 69.2%; p = 0.78). The experts took a significantly longer time to complete the eyeballing game (mean, 324.7 s vs 201.5 s; p = 0.03) and made fewer errors; however, their lower number of errors failed to achieve statistical significance at the 5% level (p = 0.07). The performances on Marble Mania using dominant and nondominant hands and their performance on Archery failed to demonstrate any significant differences (p values = 0.44, 0.35, and 0.67, respectively). The study suggests that certain video games could help us to understand the special visual perception skills that interventional radiologists possess. However, performance on an aptitude test and dexterity as assessed with certain video games were not significantly different between IR experts and nonexperts.