Maarten van der Elst

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About

Maarten van der Elst is a pioneering researcher in surgical robotics and medical simulation, with a focus on democratizing access to high-quality training tools. His key research areas include virtual reality (VR) surgical training, robotic surgery skill acquisition, and operating room workflow optimization. Van der Elst’s most significant contribution is the development and validation of the **PoLaRS (Portable Virtual Reality Training System for Robotic Surgery)**, a low-cost, desk-based VR simulator designed to address training disparities in resource-limited settings. His landmark 2021 randomized controlled trial (19 citations) demonstrated PoLaRS’s effectiveness in improving robotic surgical skills, offering a scalable solution for global surgical education. He has also advanced the field by investigating **collision feedback** in robotic training (3 citations), showing how haptic cues enhance skill transfer, and by pioneering methods to **automatically quantify operating table interactions** (5 citations) to improve surgical team efficiency and reduce staff burnout. Van der Elst’s work bridges the gap between cutting-edge simulation technology and real-world clinical needs, making him a leading voice in equitable, evidence-based surgical training. His research continues to shape how future surgeons learn in an increasingly robotic-assisted operating room.