Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, 101 Science Drive, Campus Box 90281, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
Medical Scientist Training Program, Duke University, 8 Searle Center Drive Suite 4010, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
Cardiovasc Eng Technol. 2023 Apr;14(2):194-203. doi: 10.1007/s13239-022-00646-y. Epub 2022 Nov 16.
Computational models of flow in patient-derived arterial geometries have become a key paradigm of biomedical research. These fluid models are often challenging to visualize due to high spatial heterogeneity and visual complexity. Virtual immersive environments can offer advantageous visualization of spatially heterogeneous and complex systems. However, as different VR devices offer varying levels of immersion, there remains a crucial lack of understanding regarding what level of immersion is best suited for interactions with patient-specific flow models.
We conducted a quantitative user evaluation with multiple VR devices testing an important use of hemodynamic simulations-analysis of surface parameters within complex patient-specific geometries. This task was compared for the semi-immersive zSpace 3D monitor and the fully immersive HTC Vive system.
The semi-immersive device was more accurate than the fully immersive device. The two devices showed similar results for task duration and performance (accuracy/duration). The accuracy of the semi-immersive device was also higher for arterial geometries of greater complexity and branching.
This assessment demonstrates that the level of immersion plays a significant role in the accuracy of assessing arterial flow models. We found that the semi-immersive VR device was a generally optimal choice for arterial visualization.
基于患者动脉几何结构的血流计算模型已成为生物医学研究的重要范例。由于空间异质性高和视觉复杂，这些流体模型通常难以可视化。虚拟沉浸式环境可以为空间异质和复杂系统提供有利的可视化。然而，由于不同的 VR 设备提供不同程度的沉浸感，对于与特定于患者的流动模型交互最适合的沉浸感水平，仍存在重要的理解缺失。
我们使用多种 VR 设备进行了一项定量用户评估，测试了血流模拟分析在复杂患者特定几何结构中的表面参数这一重要用途。该任务分别在半沉浸式 zSpace 3D 显示器和全沉浸式 HTC Vive 系统上进行了比较。
半沉浸式设备比全沉浸式设备更准确。两种设备在任务持续时间和性能（准确性/持续时间）方面的结果相似。对于更复杂和分支的动脉几何结构，半沉浸式设备的准确性也更高。
本评估表明，沉浸感的程度在评估动脉血流模型的准确性方面起着重要作用。我们发现，半沉浸式 VR 设备是动脉可视化的一般最佳选择。
