However, changes in tissue mechanical properties deep inside the tissue are difficult for human operators to sense, because the relatively large friction force between the needle shaft and the surrounding tissue masks the smaller tip forces.
In such procedures, haptic detection of changing tissue properties at different depths during needle insertion is important for needle localization and detection of subsurface structures. Many medical procedures involving needle insertion into soft tissues, such as anaesthesia, biopsy, brachytherapy, and placement of electrodes, are performed without image guidance. This experiment highlights the utility of haptic feedback in improving task performance and lowering cognitive load for prosthesis use, and demonstrates the potential for fNIRS to provide a robust measure of cognitive effort for other human-in-the-loop systems. Results showed that discrimination accuracy and mental effort are optimal with the natural hand, followed by the prosthesis featuring haptic feedback, and then the traditional prosthesis, particularly for objects whose stiffness were difficult to differentiate. Utilizing fNIRS in a two-alternative forced-choice stiffness discrimination task, we asked participants to differentiate objects using their natural hand, a (traditional) myoelectric prosthesis without sensory feedback, and a myoelectric prosthesis with haptic (vibrotactile) feedback of grip force. Here, we propose wearable, wireless functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging to provide a continuous direct assessment of operator mental effort during use of a prosthesis. Cognitive load is usually investigated with reaction time metrics and secondary task accuracy, which are indirect, and may not capture the time-varying nature of mental effort.
Finally, we summarize the best design practices to develop haptic simulations for learning, address gaps in current research, and propose new research directions.Įvaluations of haptic feedback in myoelectric prostheses are generally limited to task performance outcomes, which while necessary, fail to capture the mental effort of the user operating the prosthesis. We then explore the effects of haptic design on its current applicability following these two theories. In that direction, we describe two of the most common cognitive theories, the Cognitive Load and Embodied Cognition theories, that developers use to support haptic technology’s implications and use in learning environments. In this paper, we reviewed studies from various disciplines that incorporate haptics to increase the quality of teaching and learning while emphasizing the underlying cognitive theories. Therefore, it is natural that incorporating haptic technology into pedagogical methods has been an active research area as it has significant potential to enrich the learning experience and provide an engaging environment for learners.
The sense of touch is a powerful and innate learning tool that we readily employ starting from very early ages as infants even before learning to walk. It is a bidirectional technology in that it facilitates the interaction between the user and these virtual representations by allowing them to apply force onto one another, which is analogous to our real-world interactions with physical objects as action-reaction pairs. Haptic technology enables users to utilize their sense of touch while engaging with a virtual representation of objects in a simulated environment.
0 kommentar(er)
