User Interaction in Semi-Automatic Segmentation of Organs at Risk: a Case Study in Radiotherapy

Accurate segmentation of organs at risk is an important step in radiotherapy planning. Manual segmentation being a tedious procedure and prone to inter- and intra-observer variability, there is a growing interest in automated segmentation methods. However, automatic methods frequently fail to provide satisfactory result, and post-processing corrections are often needed. Semi-automatic segmentation methods are designed to overcome these problems by combining physicians’ expertise and computers’ potential. This study evaluates two semi-automatic segmentation methods with different types of user interactions, named the “strokes” and the “contour”, to provide insights into the role and impact of human-computer interaction. Two physicians participated in the experiment. In total, 42 case studies were carried out on five different types of organs at risk. For each case study, both the human-computer interaction process and quality of the segmentation results were measured subjectively and objectively. Furthermore, different measures of the process and the results were correlated. A total of 36 quantifiable and ten non-quantifiable correlations were identified for each type of interaction. Among those pairs of measures, 20 of the contour method and 22 of the strokes method were strongly or moderately correlated, either directly or inversely. Based on those correlated measures, it is concluded that: (1) in the design of semi-automatic segmentation methods, user interactions need to be less cognitively challenging; (2) based on the observed workflows and preferences of physicians, there is a need for flexibility in the interface design; (3) the correlated measures provide insights that can be used in improving user interaction design

Percepção háptica no design colaborativo síncrono mediado pelo computador

Orientador: Prof. dr. Adriano HeemannDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Parana, Setor de Artes, Comunicação e Design, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Design. Defesa: Curitiba, 20/02/2014Inclui referênciasÁrea de concentração : Design gráfico e de produtoResumo: Inserido no tema "Design Colaborativo", esta pesquisa investiga a importância da percepção háptica em sistemas colaborativos remotos síncronos. A pesquisa compreende a emergente necessidade de colaboração remota com times multidisciplinares para o alcance de resultados efetivos em projetos, na qual os ambientes virtuais colaborativos parecem uma aposta promissora ao design colaborativo. Neste cenário, o toque que é um componente essencial ao design de produto poderá ser quesito básico para a prática projetual virtual futura. Deste modo, delimitou-se o problema da presente pesquisa pelo seguinte questionamento: qual o papel da modalidade sensorial tato-pressão, estimulada por dispositivos hápticos, no design colaborativo síncrono mediado pelo computador? A investigação técnica desta pesquisa foi executada com o uso metodológico de duas referências: uma revisão teórica-empírica, na qual utilizou-se do modelo estruturado de revisão bibliográfica RBS que é composto por uma revisão bibliográfica de documentos relevantes aos temas pesquisados: Colaboração, Ambientes Virtuais, Informação e Percepção, e Háptica; e uma pesquisa com a aplicação do método Delphi adaptado com as analogias da Sinética. O discurso obtido através destes métodos foi o articulador das conclusões desta pesquisa. Como objetivo geral esta pesquisa buscou determinar o papel da modalidade sensorial tatopressão, estimulada por dispositivos hápticos, no design colaborativo síncrono mediado pelo computador. O produto final que estabelece tal determinação é composto por um mapeamento de características e propostas de pesquisa e aprimoramento do design colaborativo síncrono mediado pelo computador apoiado por dispositivos hápticos. Dentre as conclusões observou-se que a háptica no desenvolvimento colaborativo ainda é um estudo incipiente que demanda avanços em tecnologia e pesquisa. Embora, seja uma prática em estágio inicial de desenvolvimento existe uma grande prospectiva de seu uso em sistemas futuros de desenvolvimento remoto.Abstract: Inserted on the theme "Collaborative Design", this research investigates the importance of haptic perception in synchronous remote collaborative systems. The research comprises the emerging need for remote collaboration with multidisciplinary teams to achieve tangible results in projects in which the collaborative virtual environments seem to be a promising bet to collaborative design. In this scenario, the touch which is an essential component to the product design can be a basic need for the future virtual design practice. Thereby the problem of this research is delimited by the following question: what is the role of sensory modality touch-pressure, stimulated by haptic devices in synchronous computer-mediated collaborative design? The technical investigation of this research was performed with the methodological use of two references: a theoretical and empirical review, in which was used a structured literature review RBS model that consists of a literature review of relevant documents to the topics surveyed: Collaboration, Virtual Environments, Information and Awareness and Haptics, and a research with the application of the Delphi method adapted with the analogies of Sinetica. The discourse obtained by these methods was the articulator for the conclusions of this research. As the main objective this study sought to determine the role of sensory modality touchpressure, stimulated by haptic devices in synchronous computer-mediated collaborative design. The final product that establishes this determination is made by a mapping features and proposals for research and improvement of synchronous computer-mediated collaborative design supported by haptic devices. Among the findings it was observed that the haptic collaborative development is still in an incipient study that demand advances in technology and research. Although, it is a practice in early stage of development there is a great prospect of its use in future systems for remote development

Proceedings of the 9th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2012)

The proceedings of the conferenc

Collaborative co-design of emerging multi-technologies for surgery

The EU Research Training Network on Augmented Reality in Surgery (ARIS*ER) was established with two aims: (1) to develop next-generation novel image guidance (augmented reality based on medical images) and cross-linked robotic systems (automatic control loops guided by information sensed from the patient) and (2) to educate young researchers in the user-centred, multidisciplinary design of emerging technologies for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and intervention radiology. Collaborations between engineers, Human Factors specialists, industrial designers and medical end users were foreseen, but actual methodologies had to be developed. Three applications were used as development vehicles and as demonstrators. The resulting teamwork and process of indentifying requirements, finding solutions (in technology and workflow), and shifting between these to optimize and speed development towards quality of care were studied. The ARIS*ER approach solves current problems in collaborative teams, taking a systems approach, and manages the overview of requirements and solutions, which is too complex to manage centrally.Industrial Design Engineerin