An initial evaluation of the Iowa Dental Surgical Simulator

Abstract

The University of Iowa colleges of dentistry and engineering are collaborating to build an effective but low‐cost surgical simulator that uses force feedback to teach and assess the tactile skills of dentistry. A prototype simulator was built, and a formative evaluation examined the realism of the haptics and identified directions for future work. Using a cross‐over design, twelve experienced practitioners probed two virtual teeth using two instruments attached to the force feedback device. The session was videotaped, the forces recorded, and a standardized questionnaire completed. Two analyses were conducted: an ANOVA examined practitioners' questionnaire responses, and a t‐test analyzed the probing forces. Significant tooth order by instrument order interaction and instrument effects were found. Practitioners were generally satisfied. They preferred a standard joystick to an explorer, felt that two‐dimensional graphics were sufficient, and emphasized that the existing vibration be eliminated. Random placement of caries should help teach generalized skills.