Autostereoscopic Three-Dimensional Viewer Evaluation Through Comparison With Conventional Interfaces in Laparoscopic Surgery

Abstract

In the near future, it is likely that 3-dimensional (3D) surgical endoscopes will replace current 2D imaging systems given the rapid spreading of stereoscopy in the consumer market. In this evaluation study, an emerging technology, the autostereoscopic monitor, is compared with the visualization systems mainly used in laparoscopic surgery: a binocular visor, technically equivalent from the viewer's point of view to the da Vinci 3D console, and a standard 2D monitor. A total of 16 physicians with no experience in 3D interfaces performed 5 different tasks, and the execution time and accuracy of the tasks were evaluated. Moreover, subjective preferences were recorded to qualitatively evaluate the different technologies at the end of each trial. This study demonstrated that the autostereoscopic display is equally effective as the binocular visor for both low- and high-complexity tasks and that it guarantees better performance in terms of execution time than the standard 2D monitor. Moreover, an unconventional task, included to provide the same conditions to the surgeons regardless of their experience, was performed 22% faster when using the autostereoscopic monitor than the binocular visor. However, the final questionnaires demonstrated that 60% of participants preferred the user-friendliness of the binocular visor. These results are greatly heartening because autostereoscopic technology is still in its early stages and offers potential improvement. As a consequence, the authors expect that the increasing interest in autostereoscopy could improve its friendliness in the future and allow the technology to be widely accepted in surgery.

Technical review of the da Vinci surgical telemanipulator

“…In a recent laboratory‐based study, Silvestri et al . compared 2D, binocular 3D and 3D autosteroscopic displays. The auto‐stereoscopic display provided results comparable with binocular 3D, but necessitated more training.…”

“…The results of this study confirmed the importance of stereoscopic viewing in improving performance, and underlined the subjective estimation of task efficiency. In a recent laboratory-based study, Silvestri et al (16) compared 2D, binocular 3D and 3D autosteroscopic displays. The auto-stereoscopic display provided results comparable with binocular 3D, but necessitated more training.…”

An assessment of the new generation three-dimensional high definition laparoscopic vision system on surgical skills: a randomized prospective study

“…The role of newly designed HD, stereoscopic 3D visualization system in overcoming the drawbacks of 2D system is worth investigating [22]. Silvestri et al have reported that the main problem with these studies was that they compared low-resolution 3D displays with high definition 2D [16]. Previous studies comparing 2D and 3D LVS have been limited by the technology available, and several studies have failed to demonstrate statistically significant improvement in performance or accuracy with 3D compared to 2D imaging [2,18,[23][24][25][26].…”

Face and construct validation study of novel 3D peg transfer models for training and evaluation of laparoscopic skills in two-dimensional and three-dimensional laparoscopic surgery

“…10 Several studies have suggested that 3D imaging facilitates the execution of complex tasks with improved performances. [11][12][13][14][15][16] Previous studies 17,18 have suggested that 3D would not provide any benefits for experienced surgeons, due to their extensive experience with 2D laparoscopy. On the other hand, other recent studies have successfully shown improved performances of experienced surgeons when 3D imaging was used.…”