Author: Flora Liu, MD
IARS 2026 Annual Meeting coverage
Anesthesiology education is shifting from traditional case-volume requirements toward objective, data-driven measures of procedural mastery. At the 2026 IARS and SOCCA Annual Meeting, educators discussed how motion tracking, virtual reality, and proficiency indexes may improve technical training while protecting patient safety.
Santiago Uribe-Marquez, MD, described the use of hand- and eye-tracking technology in point-of-care ultrasound training. Hand-motion systems measure factors such as movement distance, rotation, acceleration, and procedure time. These measurements identify unnecessary movements and provide learners with rapid, objective feedback. Motion Augmented eXperience feedback reportedly reduced the time required to deliver feedback from approximately four hours to 20 seconds, allowing trainees to improve more quickly than with traditional expert review alone.
Eye tracking can reveal how learners visually process procedural information. Experts generally maintain longer, more stable focus on relevant anatomy, while novices make more frequent, scattered eye movements. Wearable eye-tracking devices can create heat maps showing where trainees direct their attention. Potential applications include airway management, crisis training, ultrasound, and virtual or augmented reality. Current limitations include cost, calibration difficulties, and sensitivity to lighting conditions.
Shiri Savir, MD, discussed virtual reality training for neuraxial procedures. Traditional lectures may not adequately teach the complex three-dimensional anatomy involved in spinal and epidural techniques. Virtual reality allows trainees to explore anatomy and repeatedly practice procedures without placing patients at risk. Newer systems can simulate variations in anatomy, body habitus, and positioning, while future platforms may incorporate robotic haptic feedback that reproduces sensations such as loss of resistance.
Virtual reality has demonstrated improvements in knowledge and has been well received by learners. It may be particularly valuable as clinical training opportunities become more limited. However, virtual reality should complement rather than replace mannequin simulation and supervised patient care.
Robina Matyal, MD, presented a proficiency index designed to assess procedural competence objectively. Traditional measures such as case numbers, completion time, and general faculty evaluations may not accurately determine whether a trainee is ready to perform a procedure independently.
The proficiency index evaluates four areas:
- Procedural workflow
- Medical knowledge
- Clinical skills
- Crisis management
The model has demonstrated content validity, inter-rater reliability, and the ability to distinguish between different levels of training. It changes the educational focus from how many procedures a trainee has observed or performed to whether the trainee has demonstrated measurable competence.
Key Takeaways
The most effective procedural-training model may combine virtual reality for initial learning and repetition, mannequin simulation for tactile skill development, and supervised operating-room experience for real-world application.
Trainees could be required to meet a predetermined virtual-reality or simulation benchmark before performing high-risk procedures on patients or beginning rotations that require greater procedural independence.
Motion tracking, virtual reality, and proficiency-based assessments provide standardized performance data that are difficult to obtain in clinical practice. These technologies may shorten the early learning period, improve feedback, and make each patient encounter safer and more educational.
Thank you to IARS for allowing us to summarize this important coverage from the 2026 Annual Meeting.