{"id":3617,"date":"2018-12-13T10:58:05","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T09:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.zhdk.ch\/masterkvis\/?p=3617"},"modified":"2019-08-07T15:47:36","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T13:47:36","slug":"visualizing-the-inner-ear-for-robotic-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.zhdk.ch\/masterkvis\/visualizing-the-inner-ear-for-robotic-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Journey to the Inner Ear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Visual Design of Robot-Assisted Surgery for the Hearing Impaired<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Catherine Tsai, 2019<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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A tablet for surgical planning: Otoplan<\/em> is a software on a tablet device that allows surgeons to generate 3D ear models from patient CT scans and plan the trajectory of the robot drill. This master\u2018s project optimizes the visual interface for the surgeon user.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How can designing audience-specific visualizations improve the user experience of a novel robot-assisted surgical platform? What visual aspects are important to improve accuracy, orientation, and safety for the surgeon user? What visual aspects are important to reduce fear and improve trust for patients about to undergo the surgery?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is a cochlear implant?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A sound processor (1) captures sound and converts it into a digital code. The code is sent through a coil (2) to the implant (3). The implant sends an electrical signal through an electrode that must travel through the side of the skull to reach the cochlea, our hearing organ. The hearing nerve (4) transmits the signal as impulses to the brain, which interprets these as  sound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picture from Cochlear\u00ae.
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A robot assists a surgeon <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A robot with an optical tracker and drill assists a head and neck surgeon with difficult parts of cochlear implantation surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picture from ARTORG Center.
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Background<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Five percent of the world is deaf or hard of hearing. The cochlea is the organ that allows us to hear, and thousands of cochlear implantations are performed each year to restore the sense of hearing. Because ear anatomy is difficult and the surgery is technically challenging, 30\u201350% of cases are not successful.  With modern technology, surgeons like myself now have a solution \u2013 surgical robots. Robots can overcome human limitation, making the surgery more effective, less invasive, and safer for the patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aims<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Programming the surgical robot requires creating 3D models from patient-specific CT scans. The aim of this project was to explore the visual needs of the various audiences of this novel surgical system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Pixels to 3D Models<\/h5>\n\n\n\n