Medizinische Universität Graz Austria/Österreich - Forschungsportal - Medical University of Graz
Gewählte Publikation:
Berger, M.
Workflow assessment of an augmented reality application for planning of perforator flaps in plastic reconstructive surgery: Game or game changer?
Humanmedizin; [ Diplomarbeit ] Medizinische Universität Graz; 2023. pp. 22
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- Autor*innen der Med Uni Graz:
- Betreuer*innen:
- Lumenta David Benjamin
- Pichlsberger Melanie
- Altmetrics:
- Abstract:
- Objective: In contrast to the rising amount of !nancial investments for research and development in medical technology worldwide is the lack of usability and clinical readiness of the produced systems. We evaluated an augmented reality (AR) setup under development for preoperative perforator vessel mapping for elective autologous breast reconstruction. Methods: In this grant-supported research pilot, we used magnetic resonance angiography data (MR-A) of the trunk to superimpose the scans on the corresponding patients with hands-free AR goggles to identify regions-of-interest for surgical planning. Perforator location was assessed using MR-A imaging (MR-A projection) and Doppler ultrasound data (3D dis- tance) and con!rmed intraoperatively in all cases. We evaluated usability (System Usability Scale, SUS), data transfer load and documented personnel hours for software development, correlation of image data, as well as processing duration to clinical readiness (time from MR-A to AR projections per scan). Results: All perforator locations were con!rmed intraoperatively, and we found a strong correlation between MR-A projec- tion and 3D distance measurements (Spearman r = 0.894). The overall usability (SUS) was 67 ± 10 (=moderate to good). The presented setup for AR projections took 173 min to clinical readiness (=availability on AR device per patient). Conclusion: In this pilot, we calculated development investments based on project-approved grant-funded personnel hours with a moderate to good usability outcome resulting from some limitations: assessment was based on one- time testing with no previous training, a time lag of AR visualizations on the body and dif!culties in spatial AR orien- tation. The use of AR systems can provide new opportunities for future surgical planning, but has more potential for educational (e.g., patient information) or training purposes of medical under- and postgraduates (spatial recogni- tion of imaging data associated with anatomical structures and operative planning). We expect future usability improvements with re!ned user interfaces, faster AR hardware and arti!cial intelligence-enhanced visualization techniques.