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Published on: September 2, 2025
Skin shift and its effect on navigation accuracy in image-guided neurosurgery
Takashi Mitsui1, Masazumi Fujii, Masatoshi Tsuzaka
1Graduate School of Medical Science, Nagoya University, 1-1-20 Daiko-minami, Higashi, Nagoya, 461-8673, Japan. mitsui.takashi@e.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Radiological Physics and Technology
|September 11, 2010
Summary
Skin shift, a displacement of markers during brain surgery fixation, can reduce neuronavigation accuracy. Intraoperative MRI significantly improves accuracy by correcting for this skin shift effect.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Medical Imaging
- Surgical Navigation
Background:
- Neuronavigation systems are crucial for accurate brain tumor resection.
- Head fixation during surgery can introduce errors like skin shift, impacting accuracy.
- Understanding and mitigating these errors is vital for patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the extent of skin shift caused by head fixation.
- To evaluate the impact of skin shift on neuronavigation accuracy.
- To compare the accuracy of preoperative versus intraoperative MRI-based registration.
Main Methods:
- Comparing preoperative and intraoperative MRI scans to measure fiducial marker displacement (skin shift).
- Assessing neuronavigation accuracy using registration based on both preoperative and intraoperative MRI.
- Statistical analysis to determine correlations and significance.
Main Results:
- Mean skin shift was 5.34 mm.
- Navigation accuracy was significantly better with intraoperative MRI (2.51 mm) compared to preoperative MRI (4.06 mm).
- No significant correlation found between skin shift extent and pin-marker distance.
Conclusions:
- Head fixation during neurosurgery causes skin shift, reducing neuronavigation accuracy.
- Intraoperative MRI effectively corrects for skin shift, enhancing surgical precision.
- Utilizing intraoperative MRI is recommended for improved accuracy in image-guided neurosurgery.

