Mitral valve repair has emerged as the new gold standard in reconstructive cardiac surgery, offering superior outcomes compared to valve replacement. However, mastering this complex procedure requires extensive practice and presents a significant learning curve for surgeons in training. Recognizing that the educational benefits of such training have been insufficiently studied, Christina conducted a prospective study to evaluate the training effects of different mitral valve repair tasks in her thesis. Together with her research group, she developed a high-fidelity, patientspecific simulator designed to assess and enhance surgical skill acquisition. A total of 25 medical students participated in structured training sessions, each performing two complete neo-chordae implantations and ring annuloplasties on silicone valve replicas derived from patient data. Three pathological models - posterior, anterior, and bi-leaflet prolapse - were used to represent varying levels of surgical complexity. Throughout the sessions, participants were evaluated on anatomical accuracy (identification of papillary muscles, leaflet segments, and annulus), functional accuracy (chordae length and knot-tying), and execution time for each procedural step to quantify the progress. After every session, expert feedback was provided to guide targeted improvement. The results were clear: all participants became faster and more precise after completing all training sessions showing a steep learning curve and demonstrating a measurable improvement in procedural proficiency. 24 DAILY ICCV Tuesday Congrats, Doctor Christina! Christina Wang has recently obtained her Doctor of Medicine at Heidelberg University, Germany. She worked at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Cardiovascular Medicine under the leadership of Sandy Engelhardt and the supervision of Gabriele Romano and Roger Karl. Her work centered on advancing simulationbased surgical training - a crucial step toward modernizing education in cardiac surgery. Christina is now looking to pursue a career as a surgeon herself.
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