Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 1, 2026
Cone Beam Intraoperative Computed Tomography-based Image Guidance for Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Interbody Fusion
Published on: August 6, 2019
Development of preoperative planning software for transforaminal endoscopic surgery and the guidance for clinical
Xiaojun Chen1,2, Jun Cheng3, Xin Gu4
1Institute of Biomedical Manufacturing and Life Quality Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. xiaojunchen@163.com.
Purpose:
Preoperative planning is of great importance for transforaminal endoscopic techniques applied in percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy. In this study, a modular preoperative planning software for transforaminal endoscopic surgery was developed and demonstrated.
Methods:
The path searching method is based on collision detection, and the oriented bounding box was constructed for the anatomical models. Then, image reformatting algorithms were developed for multiplanar reconstruction which provides detailed anatomical information surrounding the virtual planned path. Finally, multithread technique was implemented to realize the steady-state condition of the software.
Results:
A preoperative planning software for transforaminal endoscopic surgery (TE-Guider) was developed; seven cases of patients with symptomatic lumbar disc herniations were planned preoperatively using TE-Guider. The distances to the midlines and the direction of the optimal paths were exported, and each result was in line with the empirical value.
Conclusions:
TE-Guider provides an efficient and cost-effective way to search the ideal path and entry point for the puncture. However, more clinical cases will be conducted to demonstrate its feasibility and reliability.
