[Preoperative imaging as the basis for image-guided neurosurgery]

With the progressive development of soft- and hardware, the acceptance of image-guided neurosurgery has increased dramatically. Additional image data are required to analyze the nature and the dimensions of pathological processes and the surrounding tissue. In this context, fMRI, SPECT, PET, as well as special modalities of CT and MR imaging, are routinely used. Secondary post-processing options are used to detect intracerebral lesions as well as adjacent functional eloquent regions in the parenchymatous organ pre- and intraoperatively. The integration of different image information guarantees the precise planning and realization of surgical maneuvers. The segmentation of interesting structures and risk structures, as well as their implementation in the neuronavigation systems, help to avoid additional intraoperative traumatization and offer a higher level of safety and precision. In this article the value and limitations of presurgical imaging will be discussed.