Supplemental wide field-of-view monitor improves performance in surgical telerobotic movement time.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the effect of a supplemental wide field-of-view (FOV) monitor on performance at high magnifications where the benefits of robotic surgery have greater importance.
METHODS: Ten surgically naïve participants performed a simple aimed movement task under two different monitor conditions. The task is intended to emulate the need to locate an instrument outside the surgeon's FOV and return it to a 'home' position without the need to zoom. One monitor condition used a narrow FOV (25x) coupled with a supplemental wide FOV (3x). The second monitor condition used only a narrow FOV.
RESULTS: Using a supplemental wide FOV in addition to a narrow FOV improved task performance by at least 33%, with greater consistency and reliability.
CONCLUSION: The supplemental wide FOV monitor provided additional information to the participant, allowing more efficient performance at high magnifications without the need for zooming. Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.