Surgery with computerized virtual reality for the automatic detection of tumors

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Surgical Technology
• Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

Background:

• Accurate intraoperative tumor assessment is critical for effective cancer surgery.
• Current methods for detecting malignancy and metastasis can be time-consuming and may require separate procedures.
• The need for real-time, integrated diagnostic tools in the operating room is increasing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel informatics engineering system for automatic, real-time tumor detection and characterization within the surgical field.
• To assess the system's accuracy in identifying tumor outlines, malignancy, and lymph node metastasis during operative procedures.
• To integrate the system's output seamlessly into the surgeon's workflow via virtual reality or monitors.

Main Methods:

• Development of an artificial vision system leveraging informatics engineering principles.
• Real-time image processing of surgical field video feeds.
• Integration with surgeon feedback systems, including virtual reality helmets and monitors.
• Application in 30 gastric and 5 pancreatic neoplasms, among other tumor types.

Main Results:

• The system demonstrated high accuracy in all tested cases.
• It correctly identified tumors as benign or malignant.
• The system accurately revealed tumor extension and detected lymph node metastases, confirmed by histological examination.

Conclusions:

• The presented informatics engineering system offers a novel and highly accurate solution for intraoperative tumor detection.
• The system's ability to provide real-time information on malignancy and metastasis aids surgical decision-making.
• This technology has the potential to improve surgical outcomes by providing immediate, reliable diagnostic feedback.