Stereoscopic displays are known to offer a number of key advantages in visualizing complex 3D structures or datasets.
The large majority of studies that focus on evaluating stereoscopic displays for professional applications use completion
time and/or the percentage of correct answers to measure potential performance advantages. However, completion time
and accuracy may not fully reflect all the benefits of stereoscopic displays. In this paper, we argue that perceived
workload is an additional valuable indicator reflecting the extent to which users can benefit from using stereoscopic
displays. We performed an experiment in which participants were asked to perform a visual path-tracing task within a
convoluted 3D wireframe structure, varying in level of complexity of the visualised structure and level of disparity of the
visualisation. The results showed that an optimal performance (completion time, accuracy and workload), depend both
on task difficulty and disparity level. Stereoscopic disparity revealed a faster and more accurate task performance,
whereas we observed a trend that performance on difficult tasks stands to benefit more from higher levels of disparity
than performance on easy tasks. Perceived workload (as measured using the NASA-TLX) showed a similar response
pattern, providing evidence that perceived workload is sensitive to variations in disparity as well as task difficulty. This
suggests that perceived workload could be a useful concept, in addition to standard performance indicators, in
characterising and measuring human performance advantages when using stereoscopic displays.
KEYWORDS: Stereoscopic displays, Surgery, Visualization, 3D image processing, 3D displays, 3D modeling, Stereoscopy, Computed tomography, Blood vessels, Magnetic resonance imaging
In this paper we review empirical studies that investigate performance effects of stereoscopic displays for medical
applications. We focus on four distinct application areas: diagnosis, pre-operative planning, minimally invasive surgery
(MIS) and training/teaching. For diagnosis, stereoscopic displays can augment the understanding of complex spatial
structures and increase the detection of abnormalities. Stereoscopic viewing of medical data has proven to increase the
detection rate in breast imaging. A stereoscopic presentation of noisy and transparent images in 3D ultrasound results in
better visualization of the internal structures, however more empirical studies are needed to confirm the clinical
relevance. For MRI and CT, where images are frequently rendered in 3D perspective, the added value of binocular depth
has not yet been convincingly demonstrated. For MIS, stereoscopic displays can decrease surgery time and increase
accuracy of surgical procedures. Performance of surgical procedures is similar when high resolution 2D displays are
compared with lower resolution stereoscopic displays, indicating an image quality improvement for stereoscopic
displays. Training and surgical planning already use computer simulations in 2D, however more research is needed to the
benefit of stereoscopic displays in those applications. Overall there is a clear need for more empirical evidence that
quantifies the added value of stereoscopic displays in medical domains, such that the medical community will have
ample basis to invest in stereoscopic displays in all or some of the described medical applications.
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