Qualitatively Investigating the Impact of Augmented Reality Interactions for Radiologists

The need for efficiency in radiology has been made clear and augmented reality (AR) has the potential to address this by aiding with issues around irregular lighting conditions impacting the accuracy of reports, while also speeding up the process with improved interactions. However, some interaction questions are still very much open and interactions for radiological applications deserve more attention. A series of seven interviews with practising radiologists and radiology registrars was conducted where AR tasks with the Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Meta Quest 3, with software provided by GigXR, are used to engage in a rich dialogue around the interaction value of AR for radiological tasks. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to analyse the resulting data alongside the NASA Task Load Index. Five themes were generated through the analysis and are supported by the NASA-TLX score. They demonstrate the difficulties participants had manipulating objects and the interactions requirements future systems should strive for, while also countering prior assumptions in the literature. The themes were mapped to three design considerations for future radiological AR applications that stand as the contribution of this work. These are embodied in the speculation of an AR-First world that illustrates key requirements.