Abstract
Efficient communication and collaboration are essential in the operating
room for successful and safe surgery. While many technologies are
improving various aspects of surgery, communication between attending
surgeons, residents, and surgical teams is still limited to verbal
interactions that are prone to misunderstandings. Novel modes of
communication can increase speed and accuracy, and transform operating
rooms. We present a mixed reality (MR) based gaze sharing application on
Microsoft HoloLens 2 headset that can help expert surgeons indicate
specific regions, communicate with decreased verbal effort, and guide
novices throughout an operation. We test the utility of the application
with a user study of endoscopic kidney stone localization completed by
urology expert and novice surgeons. We observe improvement in the NASA
Task Load Index surveys (up to 25.23%), in the success rate of the task
(6.98% increase in localized stone percentage), and in gaze analyses
(up to 31.99%). The proposed application shows promise in both
operating room applications and surgical training tasks.