Effectiveness of virtual reality compared to video training on acetabular cup and femoral stem implantation accuracy in total hip arthroplasty among medical students: a randomised controlled trial

Purpose Virtual reality (VR) training effectiveness in improving hip arthroplasty surgical skills requires further evaluation. We hypothesised VR training could improve accuracy and the time taken by medical students compared to a control group with only video teaching. Methods This single-centre randomized controlled clinical trial collected data from March to June 2023. Surgically naïve volunteer undergraduate medical students performed three sessions on a VR training platform, either cup (VR-Cup=Control-Stem) or stem (VR-Stem=Control-Cup) implantation. The primary outcome was the mean difference between predefined cup inclination (60°) and stem anteversion (20°) compared to the actual implanted values in sawbones between VR and control groups. Secondary outcomes were task completion time and mistake number between the groups. Results A total of 101 students participated (VR-Cup 47, VR-Stem 54). Groups did not significantly differ concerning age ( p = 0.879), gender ( p = 0.408), study year ( p = 0.938), previous VR use ( p = 0.269) and baseline medical and procedural knowledge. The VR-Cup implanted the cup closer to the intended target ( p < 0.001) and faster than the Control-Cup group ( p = 0.113). The VR-Stem implanted the stem closer to the intended target ( p = 0.008) but not faster than the Control-Cup group ( p = 0.661). Stem retroversion was commoner in the Control-Stem than in the VR-Stem group ( p = 0.016). Conclusions VR training resulted in higher rates of accurate procedure completion, reduced time and fewer errors compared to video teaching. VR training is an effective method for improving skill acquisition in THA. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05807828