From Physics-Based Simulation to Surgical Robots| Show Me The Evidence E8- Dr Dwight Meglan

Dwight Meglan, the engineer who built one of the first physics-based VR surgical simulators explains why, 25 years on, most simulators still aren't verified against reality. In episode 8 of Show Me the Evidence, Professor Tony Gallagher talks to Dr Dwight Meglan, simulation pioneer turned surgical robotics developer, about why the field measures process instead of skill, why device manufacturers rather than educators set the training agenda, and why deaths from surgical skills deficits amount to the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every day. They also discuss the evidence for Proficiency-Based Progression training, which cuts objectively assessed surgical errors by around 60 per cent (Mazzone et al., Annals of Surgery, 2021), and why autonomous surgical robots are a financial and regulatory dead end, not a technical one. Key evidence discussed: Mazzone et al. (2021), Annals of Surgery: https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.000000000... Puliatti et al. (2026), BJU International: https://doi.org/10.1111/bju.70130 Follow Tony Gallagher:   / anthony-g-gallagher