Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026
Three-dimensional Location Approach with Silk Thread Guided Laparoscopic Segmentectomy for Liver Tumor
Published on: May 23, 2025
Ultrasound-to-computer-tomography registration for image-guided laparoscopic liver surgery
1Department of Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, D-5220 Medical Center North, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Background:
The application of image-guided surgery (IGS) to laparoscopic liver resection and ablation is currently limited, but it would assist in intraoperative decision making regarding oncologic margins, ablation probe placement, and ablation tracking.
Methods:
Eight spherical surface targets on a liver phantom were imaged with an optically tracked laparoscopic ultrasound (US) probe. Ten US images of each target were registered to computer tomography (CT) images of the phantoms and then mapped to the CT scans. Accuracy of the registration was assessed by comparing the distance between the predicted target location and the position obtained directly from CT.
Results:
The average localization error was 5.3 mm. The errors resulted primarily from inaccurate US probe tracking but were otherwise insensitive to the variability that arises from manually identifying targets in US and CT images.
Conclusions:
The results obtained for US-to-CT registration in a phantom model suggest that further investigations into its clinical use are warranted and that other IGS technologies could be applied to laparoscopic liver surgery as well.
Related Concept Videos
01:25Ultrasound II: Endoscopic Ultrasound and FibroScan
Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS):
01:20Ultrasound I: Abdominal Ultrasonography
Abdominal ultrasonography, commonly known as abdominal ultrasound, is a vital, non-invasive medical imaging technique widely used in healthcare.
Procedure:
This diagnostic tool allows the clinician to visually inspect internal structures within the abdomen, including vital organs such as the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, and spleen.
The abdominal ultrasound process begins with applying a special gel to the patient's skin over the abdomen. This gel enhances the...