Criteria of human-computer interface design for computer assisted surgery systems

In recent years, computer assisted surgery (CAS) systems become more and more common in clinical practices, but few specific design criteria have been proposed for human-computer interface (HCI) in CAS systems. This paper tried to give universal criteria of HCI design for CAS systems through introduction of demonstration application, which is total knee replacement (TKR) with a nonimage-based navigation system. A typical computer assisted process can be divided into four phases: the preoperative planning phase, the intraoperative registration phase, the intraoperative navigation phase and finally the postoperative assessment phase. The interface design for four steps is described respectively in the demonstration application. These criteria this paper summarized can be useful to software developers to achieve reliable and effective interfaces for new CAS systems more easily.