WIRED.com reports a pilot study presented at a recent meeting of orthopedic surgeons demonstrated that medical students who practiced a common procedure in virtual reality (VR) significantly outperformed those who used conventional preparation methods. While the study hasn’t been peer-reviewed to full vet its methodology, the outcomes demonstrate great promise.

WIRED.com spoke to Michael P. Ast, MD, hip and knee surgeon at HSS, who provided commentary about the use of VR training platforms by HSS residents, stating, "The beauty of the people we've seen train in VR is that they're way more prepared when they actually get in the operating room.” Dr. Ast added, “As opposed to spending all their time thinking what's the next step, they're able to talk and listen and observe the unique surgical considerations of that patient, because they're already completely comfortable with the procedure."

Read the full article at Wired.com.