Three-Dimensional Virtual Intraoperative Reconstruction: A Novel Method to Explore a Virtual Neurosurgical Field

Acquisition of neurosurgical anatomy knowledge requires the progressive construction of a 3-dimensional (3D) mental image from the study of 2-dimensional pictures. Tridimensional neuroimaging modeling and 3D pictures and videos have facilitated a better understanding of intricate brain anatomy. One of the main limitations of these methods however is that the user is unable to freely change his or her own point of view of the observed structures. The objective of this paper was to develop a 3D reconstruction method to facilitate learning and teaching of neurosurgery.

We developed a 3D reconstruction method by using 3D photogrammetry to convert intraoperative images into a fully explorable 3D textured model. We also developed a mobile application to navigate the virtual scenario by using the gyroscopic technology of mobile devices to simulate the different movements of the surgical microscope. We named this process 3D virtual intraoperative reconstruction (VIR).

We report the detailed methodology for picture acquisition, 3D reconstruction, and visualization with some surgical examples since the first applications in 2015. We also demonstrate how these navigable models can be used to buildup hybrid images derived by the fusion of 3D intraoperative scenarios with neuroimaging-derived 3D models.

3D VIR is a digital reconstruction method developed with the goal of facilitating the teaching and learning of neurosurgical anatomy by allowing the user to directly explore a surgical field and anatomic structures. The result is an interactive navigable 3D textured model for the analysis of the surgical approach and regional anatomy and for reconstruction of hybrid 3D scenarios.