Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35517392›Full record

ArticleBMJ simulation & technology enhanced learning2020

Early assessment with a virtual reality haptic simulator predicts performance in clinical practice.

Loulwa M Al-Saud, Faisal Mushtaq, Richard P Mann, Isra'a Mirghani, Ahmed Balkhoyor, Richard Harris, Cecilie Osnes, Andrew Keeling, Mark A Mon-Williams, Michael Manogue

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ simulation & technology enhanced learning, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Evaluating Haptic Virtual Reality Simulator for Pulpotomy Training in Primary Teeth: A Pilot Study on Dental Student Pespectives.European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe · 2025
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  11. Distinguishing skill levels with haptic simulation in restorative dentistry: Myth or reality?European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Loulwa M Al-SaudOperative Division, Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, King Saud University College of Dentistry, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6522-8549
Faisal MushtaqSchool of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7881-1127
Richard P MannSchool of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Isra'a MirghaniSchool of Dentistry and School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Ahmed BalkhoyorSchool of Dentistry and School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Richard HarrisSchool of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Cecilie OsnesSchool of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4652-3854
Andrew KeelingSchool of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Mark A Mon-WilliamsSchool of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Michael ManogueSchool of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
University of Leeds · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Prediction of clinical training aptitude in medicine and dentistry is largely driven by measures of a student's intellectual capabilities. The measurement of sensorimotor ability has lagged behind, despite being a key constraint for safe and efficient practice in procedure-based medical specialties. Virtual reality (VR) haptic simulators, systems able to provide objective measures of sensorimotor performance, are beginning to establish their utility in facilitating sensorimotor skill acquisition, and it is possible that they may also inform the prediction of clinical performance. Methods: A retrospective cohort study examined the relationship between student performance on a haptic VR simulator in the second year of undergraduate dental study with subsequent clinic performance involving patients 2 years later. The predictive ability was tested against a phantom-head crown test (a traditional preclinical dental assessment, in the third year of study). Results: VR scores averaged across the year explained 14% of variance in clinic performance, while the traditional test explained 5%. Students who scored highly on this averaged measure were ~10 times more likely to be high performers in the clinical crown test. Exploratory analysis indicated that single-trial VR scores did not correlate with real-world performance, but the relationship was statistically significant and strongest in the first half of the year and weakened over time. Conclusions: The data demonstrate the potential of a VR haptic simulator to predict clinical performance and open up the possibility of taking a data-driven approach to identifying individuals who could benefit from support in the early stages of training.

Indexed as

assessmentearly warning scoreeducationhaptic simulationsimulation-based educationvirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID35517392
PMCPMC8936545
OpenAlexW2983096591

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.