A virtual environment for surgical image guidance in intraoperative MRI
✍ Scribed by Eigil Samset; Anne Talsma; Marius Kintel; Ole Jakob Elle; Lars Aurdal; Henry Hirschberg; Erik Fosse
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2002
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 799 KB
- Volume
- 7
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1092-9088
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Intraoperative MRI has recently entered the operating room as a new imaging modality. Customized visualization systems might further facilitate the use of this imaging technology. A visualization system for use in the interventional MRI has been developed, providing a virtual environment for surgical navigation using real-time images and for controlling the scanner. The visualization system has customized features for certain clinical applications. A training and testing facility has also been established. The introduction of the visualization system in the interventional MRI overcame several ambiguities and inconsistencies that were previously present, and resulted in a more transparent man-machine interface approach. A pilot study using the software to place cryoprobes in an animal liver showed promising results. Augmentation of real-time MR images with 3D rendering and customized navigation features opens new possibilities in intraoperative MRI. The described system can also be extended to other intraoperative imaging modalities.