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Teen gamers better than real docs at virtual surgery –study


So who says video games are a total waste of time?
 
A new study has shown teenage video gamers are better at performing virtual surgery than doctors, due to better hand-eye coordination, Popular Science reported.
 
"The study used a machine that replicated surgeries - suture this, pass off that needle, etc. It then measured the users' competency based on how well they did the tasks, including the tension they put on their instruments and their overall hand-eye coordination. The high school students did best, followed by the college group, followed by the UTMB residents," PopSci.com said.
 
Scientists from University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston had theorized that high school sophomores who played two hours of games a day and college students who played four would be best suited for virtual surgery.
 
Also, the researchers had the groups perform simulations without the gaming-type robotic aid used in the first test, this time testing a different set of cognitive traits.
 
In this field, the residents dominated the young gamers, PopSci.com said.
 
Also, it said the study does not necessarily mean surgeons should start playing video games - the researchers noted most physicians working today were not trained with robotic surgery tools.
 
"But having the same gaming background as the students probably wouldn't hurt, and researchers say we should reconsider how to train surgeons from the Xbox Generation," it said. — TJD, GMA News
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