The Use of Stereoscopy in a Neurosurgery Training Virtual Environment

Abstract

We have previously investigated the effectiveness of a custom-built virtual environment in assisting training of a ventriculostomy procedure, which is a commonly performed procedure by a neurosurgeon and a core task for trainee surgeons. The training tool (called VCath) was initially developed as a low-fidelity app for a tablet platform to provide easy access and availability to trainees. Subsequently, we have developed a high-fidelity version of VCath that uses a stereoscopic display to immerse the trainee in the virtual environment. This article reports on two studies that have been carried out to compare the low- and high-fidelity versions of VCath, particularly to assess the value of stereoscopy. Study 1 was conducted at the second annual boot camp organized for all year-one trainees in neurosurgery in the UK. Study 2 was performed on lay people, with no surgical experience. Our hypothesis was that using stereoscopy in the training task would be beneficial. Results from Study 1 demonstrated that performance improved for both the control group and the group trained with the tablet version of VCath. The group trained on the high-fidelity version of VCath with a stereoscopic display showed no performance improvement. The indication is that our hypothesis is false. In Study 2, six different conditions were investigated that covered the use of training with VCath on a tablet, a mono display at two different sizes, a stereo display at two different sizes, and a control group who received no training. Results from this study with lay people show that stereoscopy can make a significant improvement to the accuracy of needle placement. The possible reasons for these results and the apparent contradiction between the two studies are discussed.

Endoscopic Rhizotomy for Facetogenic Back Pain: A Review of the History, Financial Considerations, Patient Selection Criteria, and Clinical Outcomes

“…VR-based surgical simulations with collision detection have been used for shoulder arthroscopy simulation, endovascular training, ventricular catheterization, pedicle screw insertion, lumbar puncture, and percutaneous rhizotomy. [39][40][41] Although VR-based surgical simulations are not at the forefront of training for ER, they represent a potential future training method that could help reduce costs and should be considered as surgical training methods evolve.…”

Nested Papercrafts for Anatomical and Biological Edutainment

“…Anatomical and Biological Education and Edutainment : Preim and Saalfeld [PS18] presented a survey on virtual anatomy education systems, where they review a big corpus of techniques targeting the education of medical students. These span from surface and volume visualization [PHP * 01,LSHL16,VGHN08] to animations [BPC * 14], and from anatomical labeling [BG05] to virtual and augmented reality [SSPOJ16,PPS19,JPC * 16,MWDE * 16]. Popular examples include VOXEL‐MAN [PHP * 01] and open anatomy browser [HDK17].…”

The Effectiveness of Collaborative Augmented Reality in Gross Anatomy Teaching: A Quantitative and Qualitative Pilot Study

“…They also compared the use of autostereoscopic displays with monoscopic 3D visualizations in the form of 3D PDFs and regular 2D printed images for cardiac anatomy learning (Hackett and Proctor, 2018). While significant knowledge improvements were measured, 3D misperceptions, which can lead to visual discomfort and visual fatigue, were mentioned as well, therefore, the benefits remain disputed in the context of anatomy teaching (Tourancheau et al, 2012, John et al, 2016; Hackett and Proctor, 2018). In addition to these conflicting effects on learning outcome and the perceptual challenges, one of the main disadvantages of stereoscopic displays is the limited potential for collaboration.…”