The Efficacy of a Newly Designed, Easy-to-Manufacture Training Simulator for Endoscopic Biopsy of the Stomach

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We developed a new endoscopic biopsy training simulator and determined its efficacy for improving the endoscopic biopsy skills of beginners. METHODS: This biopsy simulator, which presents seven biopsy sites, was constructed using readily available materials. We enrolled 40 participants: 14 residents, 11 first-year clinical fellows, 10 second-year clinical fellows, and five staff members. We recorded the simulation completion time for all participants, and then simulator performance was assessed via a questionnaire using the 7-point Likert scale. RESULTS: The mean times for completing the five trials were 417.7±138.8, 145.2±31.5, 112.7±21.9, and 90.5±20.0 seconds for the residents, first-year clinical fellows, second-year clinical fellows, and staff members, respectively. Endoscopists with less experience reported that they found this simulator more useful for improving their biopsy technique (6.8±0.4 in the resident group and 5.7±1.0 in the first-year clinical fellow group). The realism score of the simulator for endoscopic handling was 6.4±0.5 in the staff group. CONCLUSIONS: This new, easy-to-manufacture endoscopic biopsy simulator is useful for biopsy training for beginner endoscopists and shows good efficacy and realism.