3D Exoscopes in Microsurgery: How 3D Exoscopes Reconfigure the Workflow of Assistant Surgeons and Nurses in the Operating Room

With advanced technologies, 3D exoscopes have been introduced in the operating room and considered as an alternative to microscopes which have been a gold standard visualization tool in microsurgery. While many recent papers have examined the impact of the 3D exoscopes on a surgeon’s performance, it has not been investigated how the 3D exoscopes affect the dynamic socio-technical environment of the operating room. We present preliminary findings from a field study exploring how the 3D exoscopes reconfigure the existing practice of surgical team members (i.e., assistant surgeons, scrub nurses, and circulating nurses). We identified that one of the big advantages of the 3D exoscopes, the 3D visualization, rather impedes their workflow and teamwork. We note that design factors of the 3D exoscope should be carefully considered to build a better operating room environment for all surgical members.