Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography simulation.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has evolved from a mainly diagnostic to a mainly therapeutic endoscopic technique. Training in ERCP is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Computer- and animal-model-based simulations have been developed in the hope of standardizing and accelerating training. They also may be useful for evaluating trainees. Early efforts to develop computer simulations of endoscopic procedures were hampered by lack of processing power and memory and the cost of software development. Biologic systems seem to offer more realism at lower cost. Hybrid computer-biologic systems seem likely to be the next generation of ERCP simulators.