Although spatial cognition has been studied in a variety of domains, there is still little known about the integration of spatial skills in solving complex problems. With their interactive and compelling nature, virtual environments can become an essential tool for training, visualization, planning, and communication in an unlimited variety of applications.
Surgical training provides a challenging environment for studying spatial cognition.
From this model and a goal state based on experience and anatomical knowledge, he or she must plan a strategy to gain exposure of the important anatomy and obtain the desired result. With the advent of minimally invasive techniques, the surgeon must rely on a video image of the internal anatomy and use instruments constrained by a fulcrum at their passage through the skin. Consequently, the performance of surgical tasks requires a broad range of spatial processes in order to plan, navigate, and reason using complex representations of space. Because of the complexity of the tasks, surgeons appear to use significantly different strategies, relying to differing degrees on demanding spatial processes. By studying performance in virtual environments, it will be possible to elucidate these strategies and test hypotheses of the underlying processing.