Development of patient simulation systems for dental education, SIMROID®

Objective: The Nippon Dental University Hospital is making efforts to develop systems simulating patients' feelings, and apply them to the education of dentists to nurture holistic dentistry. We tried to improve the efficiency of interns' self-learning by adding new post-training feedback functions and clinical programs according to various situations to the GUI (Graphical User Interface) for a patient simulation systems for dental education (SIMROID^®) developed in this project. Methods: We upgraded the GUI, developed based on a survey on feelings during clinical programs using SIMROID^® in twenty doctors who had agreed on the purpose of its development, by adding new post-training feedback functions using “Microsoft Visual C++ 8.0” and clinical programs to encourage interns' self-evaluation. Results: As part of the feedback functions, the GUI is equipped with a video-recording function using an external camera during the training session, and a display function of the entire history of actions (commands) with a touch pen issued for the patient robot. The latter allows the user to stop the movie at any time and print the scene. Furthermore, training data can be collectively managed within the GUI by creating folders for individual interns. This function enables interns to easily reflect on their own performance. Conclusion: The upgrade of the GUI for the patient simulation system for dental education, together with the addition of the new feedback functions essential in objective evaluation by instructors and self-evaluation by interns, will lead us to develop “SIMROID^®”, a comprehensive simulation system, with which we can further advance holistic dental education. [This study was subsidized by Japan science and technology agency as a “development of creative technology seeds”]