Impact of image-guided surgery on surgeons' performance: a literature review

he goal of current work is to provide a literature review of the performance consequences of image-guided surgery (IGS) use. Regarding IGS system functionalities, the pattern of results suggests to distinguish between IGS systems which only provide information support (e.g. pointer-based systems) and those which directly intervene in surgeons' decision-making and actions (e.g. instrument disablement). The former offer benefits for patient safety and surgical outcome, as well as improved intraoperative orientation for surgeons, helping them to identify anatomical structures. Furthermore, IGS systems providing information support seem to shorten the time needed for surgery and reduce the subjective workload. IGS systems which intervene in a surgeon's decision-making and actions also have positive impact on patient safety and surgical outcome. In addition, these systems seem to reduce the physiological effort of surgeons. However, they can also prolong surgery and increase the subjective workload