title: Depth Perception of Surgeons in Minimally Invasive Surgery.
abstract: Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) poses visual challenges to the surgeons. In MIS, binocular disparity is not freely available for surgeons, who are required to mentally rebuild the 3-dimensional (3D) patient anatomy from a limited number of monoscopic visual cues. The insufficient depth cues from the MIS environment could cause surgeons to misjudge spatial depth, which could lead to performance errors thus jeopardizing patient safety. In this article, we will first discuss the natural human depth perception by exploring the main depth cues available for surgeons in open procedures. Subsequently, we will reveal what depth cues are lost in MIS and how surgeons compensate for the incomplete depth presentation. Next, we will further expand our knowledge by exploring some of the available solutions for improving depth presentation to surgeons. Here we will review the innovative approaches (multiple 2D camera assembly, shadow introduction) and devices (3D monitors, head-mounted devices, and auto-stereoscopic monitors) for 3D image presentation from the past few years.
authors.affiliation: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Rositsa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bogdanova
authors.affiliation: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boulanger
authors.affiliation: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada bin.zheng@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003867:Depth Perception; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment; D066231:Surgeons / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: ergonomics; human factors study; image-guided surgery; simulation; surgical education