Development and evaluation of an original phantom model of ultrasonography-guided thyroid gland biopsy for the training of surgical residents and students

Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a specific and important test used for the diagnosis of thyroid gland cancer. We developed a thyroid gland phantom using original manufacturing techniques and direct three-dimensional (3D) printing. The aim of this study was to confirm the effectiveness of this phantom by collecting data to evaluate puncture training. Data from 45 ultrasonography-guided thyroid nodule FNAC procedures performed on our thyroid phantom were evaluated in our department. The first group comprised qualified physicians who specialized in thyroid gland treatment (group A; n = 10). The second and third groups comprised senior and junior residents (group B; n = 8 and group C; n = 12; respectively). The fourth group comprised students (group D; n = 15). We measured the times taken by these groups to complete each task. The skills of all participants in groups B, C, and D improved after using this phantom involving the major (parallel)- (0.47 ± 0.07) and short (orthogonal)-axes (0.52 ± 0.07) methods (P < 0.001). The number of erroneous punctures decreased from 53 to 3. Our original phantom improved the puncture skills of students and junior doctors and was suitable as a tailored training model for practicing thyroid gland transfixion.