Effectiveness of the 3D Monitor System for Medical Education During Neurosurgical Operation

doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2017.09.113

World Neurosurgery

Volume 109, January 2018, Pages e105-e109

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2017.09.113 Get rights and content

Background

Three-dimensional (3D) graphics are used in the medical field, especially during surgery. Although 3D monitoring is useful for medical education, its effectiveness needs to be objectively evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of 3D monitoring in the surgical education of medical students.

Methods

A questionnaire on high-definition 3D monitoring was given to fifth-year medical students in a 6-year program. Sixty-four students wore polarized glasses and observed a microsurgical operation through a 3D monitor. The questionnaire contained questions on stereopsis, neurosurgical interest, visual impact, comprehension of surgical anatomy and procedures, optical sharpness, active learning enhancement, and eye exhaustion. These parameters were evaluated on a 5-point scale that spanned negative and positive scores.

Results

The average score of each parameter ranged from 3.13 to 3.78, except for eye exhaustion, which was 0.88. The items for which the students reported positive perceptions (scores of 4 or 5) were stereopsis (67.2% of students), neurosurgical interest (62.5%), visual impact and optical sharpness (60.9% for both), active learning enhancement (57.8%), and comprehension of surgical anatomy (50.0%) and procedures (42.2%). By contrast, only eye exhaustion was evaluated negatively (26.6%).

Conclusion

The use of 3D monitoring systems in medical education offers the advantage of stereopsis and contributes to surgical training. However, improvements are required to decrease eye exhaustion.

Introduction

Three-dimensional (3D) monitoring has been available in various situations such as flight simulations, military training, and entertainment, including video games and cinemas. These 3D graphic techniques are gradually being applied in the medical field. Visual input about surgical anatomy and concrete procedures are crucial for medical education, especially for learning about the processes involved in the operation. Time-proven effective surgical education involves a combination of various teaching modalities, such as textbooks and scientific references with fine illustrations or photographs in the 2-dimensional (2D) plane. Presentation of 2D information has been the criterion standard for transferring the experience, knowledge, and operative nuances of senior surgeons.1, 2 Recently, the development of digital and online environments has allowed for the supplemental submission of operative videos or 3D photographs to peer-reviewed journals.

At scientific meetings and conferences, 3D presentations have been gradually increasing. With the use of 3D display systems, nonoperators who wear polarized glasses can observe the procedure from the near-perspective of the operator. Basic knowledge about operations and, intraoperative instructions by using 3D monitoring may contribute to raising the interest and motivation of medical students for surgery, and to effectively support knowledge of microsurgical anatomy. Surgical education with 3D monitoring demonstrates the real 3D world in real time during the operation, including the atmosphere of the operating room and the emotional states of the operator. Visual instruction using digital equipment is essential in modern medical practice, especially for the education of medical students.3, 4 To this end, Henn et al.⁵ reported that stereoscopic virtual reality could improve understanding and speed the learning process in the operating room.

Evaluation and assessment are, undoubtedly, a crucial issue for future integration of educational contexts. Although 3D monitoring promotes the suitable development of technical aspects, the viewer should be the final judge of the quality of the 3D viewing system and, eventually, its widespread acceptance. Examining the benefits and disadvantages of 3D monitoring systems by surveying medical students on various issues, such as motivation for learning, appropriate curriculum implementation during the clinical internship, psychological perception, and visual impact, is mandatory for improving their systematic educational aspect. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 3D monitoring on the surgical education of medical students.

Section snippets

Method of Evaluation

A questionnaire on 3D monitoring was given to fifth-year medical students in a 6-year program who were completing the surgery rotation of their clinical internship. A total of 64 students observed a neurosurgical operation, which was performed under the microscope, through a 3D monitor. The questionnaire items pertained to the following categories: stereopsis, interest in neurosurgery, visual impact, optical sharpness, enhancement of active learning, comprehension of surgical anatomy,

Results

In medical students who observed the operation through the 3D monitor (3D monitor students' group), the average scores of evaluation ranged from 3.13 to 3.78 for all items of the questionnaire, except for the exhaustion of the eyes (Table 1). Each score from the 3D monitor students' group was higher than that from the 2D control group. By contrast, the scores obtained from neurosurgical residents revealed results similar to those from the 3D monitor students' group without any statistical

Discussion

Generally favorable scores were obtained for most parameters of the questionnaire in the 3D monitor students' group. The average scores for all parameters, except for exhaustion of the eyes, exceeded 3.0, which were evidently higher than the scores in the 2D control group. The score-assigning quantification of the impact and perception of 3D monitoring was used in this study as an index for clarifying the effect of 3D monitoring on medical education. In neurosurgical residents, all scores

Conclusion

Medical education using 3D monitoring offers the advantage of stereopsis and contributes to the surgical study; however, improvements are required concerning exhaustion of the eyes.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Alumni Association of the Department of Neurosurgery, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine; Dr. Koji Saito, Department of Neurosurgery, Kushiro Kojinkai Memorial Hospital; Dr. Sadahisa Tokuda, Department of Neurosurgery, Sapporo Teishinkai Hospital; Dr. Takeo Ito, Hakodate Shintoshi Neurosurgical Hospital; Dr. Toshio Nakagawa, Shinsapporo Neurosurgical Hospital; Dr. Hachisaburo Takahashi, Takahashi Neurosurgical Hospital; Dr. Mikio Nishiya, Hakodate Neurosurgical

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: Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that the article content was composed in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Original ArticleEffectiveness of the 3D Monitor System for Medical Education During Neurosurgical Operation

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

Section snippets

Method of Evaluation

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Hearing preservation in surgery for large vestibular schwannomas

J Neurosurg

Simple identification of the third segment of the extracranial vertebral artery by extreme lateral inferior transcondylar-transtubercular exposure (ELITE)

Acta Neurochir

Development of an educational module for surgical training: a case study

J Audiov Media Med

Original Article
Effectiveness of the 3D Monitor System for Medical Education During Neurosurgical Operation