Fig 1.
A surgeon performing temporal bone surgery on the University of Melbourne temporal bone surgery simulator.
The image is presented on a 3D screen, with the user wearing 3D goggles. A haptic enabled 3D pointing device (right hand) is used to interact with the virtual model, and represented in the simulation as a drill (as shown on the screen). Simulation parameters are adjusted with a MIDI interface controller (left hand).
Fig 2.
Region divisions in the temporal bone.
(a) center region, (b) region around the dura, (c) region around the sigmoid sinus, (d) region near the facial nerve, (e) posterior tympanotomy (facial recess), and (f) region around the round window.
Fig 3.
Similarity of drilled areas in different regions of two groups.
Similarity is defined as the ratio of the number of voxels in a region drilled by at least 75% of the surgeons in a group and that drilled by at least 25% of the surgeons.
Fig 4.
Heat map of drilled voxels in the central area for: (a) expert and (b) trainee groups.
No significant difference was observed between groups.
Fig 5.
Heat map of drilled voxels around the dura for: (a) expert and (b) trainee groups.
No significant difference was observed between groups.
Fig 6.
Heat map of drilled voxels around the sigmoid sinus for: (a) expert and (b) trainee groups.
No significant difference was observed between groups.
Fig 7.
Heat map of drilled voxels near the facial nerve for: (a) expert and (b) trainee groups.
Significant differences were observed between groups. Experts were more similar in their drilling in this region than the trainees.
Fig 8.
Heat map of drilled voxel in the facial recess for: (a) expert and (b) trainee groups.
A significant difference was observed between groups. The expert group was more similar in how they drilled in this region compared to the trainees.
Fig 9.
Heat map of drilled voxel around the round window membrane for: (a) expert and (b) trainee groups.
A significant difference was observed between groups. The expert group was more similar in how they drilled in this region compared to the trainees.