End-user evaluation of software-generated intervention planning environment for transrectal magnetic resonance-guided prostate biopsies.

BACKGROUND: This study presents user evaluation studies to assess the effect of information rendered by an interventional planning software on the operator's ability to plan transrectal magnetic resonance (MR)-guided prostate biopsies using actuated robotic manipulators. METHODS: An intervention planning software was developed based on the clinical workflow followed for MR-guided transrectal prostate biopsies. The software was designed to interface with a generic virtual manipulator and simulate an intervention environment using 2D and 3D scenes. User studies were conducted with urologists using the developed software to plan virtual biopsies. RESULTS: User studies demonstrated that urologists with prior experience in using 3D software completed the planning less time. 3D scenes were required to control all degrees-of-freedom of the manipulator, while 2D scenes were sufficient for planar motion of the manipulator. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides insights on using 2D versus 3D environment from a urologist's perspective for different operational modes of MR-guided prostate biopsy systems.