2D Map Displays to Support Neurosurgical Interventions
Final Report Abstract
Image-guided surgery near anatomical or functional risk structures poses a challenging task for surgeons. To this end, surgical navigation systems that visualize the spatial relation between 3D images of a patient and surgical instruments have been developed. The provided 3D visualizations of these navigation systems are often complex and thus might increase the mental effort of surgeons. Therefore, an appropriate intraoperative visualization of spatial relations between surgical instruments and risk structures poses a pressing need. During a stay at Harvard Medical School, Boston, three surgical visualization methods were conceptualized, implemented and evaluated to improve spatial perception in navigated surgery. The methods include a so called pointer ray that encodes the distance between the tracked instrument tip and important risk structures along the tool’s main axis, a side-looking radar that visualizes the distance between the tracked instrument tip and nearby structures around the tool, and virtual lighthouses that visualize the distances between the instrument tip and predefined anatomical landmarks. The methods investigated aim to encode distance information with low visual complexity. To show our concepts’ usefulness, a user study with 16 participants was conducted. The results provide insights into whether the newly developed visualization methods represent an added value for neurosurgical interventions. In particular, detailed knowledge has been acquired about which technical visualization parameters contribute to the support of neurosurgically navigated interventions.
