Nintendo Wii Improves Surgeons' Skills

A recent US study found that surgeons performed better after playing the Nintendo Wii prior to surgery, the Telegraph reports.

Dr. Kanav Kohel and Dr. Marshall Smith of the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Centre in Phoenix, Arizona asked eight surgical residents to put in an hour playing games on the Wii before performing surgery with a training tool that simulates a patient's body in 3D. Scores of those residents that warmed up with the Wii were 48% better than those who didn't.

Some games were more useful than others. Hudson Soft's Kororinpa Marble Mania (Wii), which requires more precise movements of the Wii remote, was noted by researchers as having a greater impact than games that prompt faster, broader movements like Nintendo's Wii Sports.

Researchers are developing specially designed software for the Wii to better meet the needs of doctors looking to tune their skills at home—Atlus' Trauma Center series apparently doesn't fit the bill.