Design and implementation of a PC-based image-guided surgical system.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Surgical Navigation
• Computer-Assisted Surgery

Background:

• Interactive image-guided surgery relies on displaying real-time instrument position within the operating room on medical images.
• Accurate surgical navigation is crucial for enhancing procedural precision and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a PC-based surgical guidance system (ORION) for synchronous, real-time display of surgical instrument position on multiple image sets.
• To integrate accurate instrument tracking, registration techniques, and advanced visualization methods for improved surgical navigation.

Main Methods:

• Developed a PC-based system (ORION) using MS Visual C++ 6.0 with dynamic link libraries.
• Implemented an active optical tracking system for precise surgical instrument tracking in physical space.
• Utilized robust mathematical kernel functions for registration algorithms and the Win32 API with OpenGL for image display and visualization.

Main Results:

• The ORION system synchronously displays surgical instrument position on up to four image sets in real time.
• Developed and validated accurate registration techniques to map physical space to image space.
• Successfully integrated instrument tracking, registration, and advanced visualization for surgical guidance.

Conclusions:

• The ORION system provides a robust platform for real-time surgical navigation, enhancing image-guided procedures.
• The system's components, including instrument tracking and registration, have been developed and tested for accuracy.
• Initial applications in liver surgery demonstrate the system's potential for improving surgical interventions.