Development and validation of a low-cost microsurgery Ear Trainer for low-resource settings.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic suppurative otitis media is a neglected condition affecting up to 330 million people worldwide, with the burden of the disease in impoverished countries. The need for non-governmental organisations to hardwire training into their programmes has been highlighted. An ear surgery simulator appropriate for training in resource-poor settings was developed, and its effectiveness in facilitating the acquisition of headlight and microsurgical skills necessary to safely perform procedures via the ear canal was investigated.

METHODS: Face validity was assessed via questionnaires. Six tasks were developed: a headlight foreign body removal task, and microscope tasks of foreign body removal, ventilation tube insertion, tympanomeatal flap raising, myringoplasty and middle-ear manipulation. Participants with varying ENT experience were video-recorded performing each task and scored by a blinded expert observer to assess construct validity.

RESULTS: Face validity results confirmed that our Ear Trainer was a realistic representation of the ear. Construct validity results showed a statistically significant trend, with experts performing the best and those with limited experience performing better than novices.

CONCLUSION: This study validates our Ear Trainer as a useful training tool for assessing headlight and microsurgical skills required to perform otological procedures.