Hybrid Simulation and Planning Platform for Cryosurgery with Microsoft HoloLens

Area of Science:

• Medical Technology
• Surgical Simulation
• Computational Medicine

Background:

• Cryosurgery, a popular tissue ablation technique, faces limitations due to 2D imaging in pre-operative planning.
• Existing cryoablation modeling software often lacks clinical usability, speed, and user-friendliness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an intuitive platform for anatomical understanding and pre-operative planning in cryosurgery.
• To integrate radiological images and cryoprobe data into a 3D virtual or hybrid simulation environment.

Main Methods:

• Development of a desktop application and a hybrid simulator utilizing 3D printing and augmented reality (Microsoft HoloLens).
• Integration of patient-specific radiological data and cryoprobe specifications.
• Preliminary validation through retrospective planning and simulation of two surgical cases.

Main Results:

• The developed platform demonstrated ease of learning and quick adoption.
• Results suggest improved anatomical understanding and simplified surgical planning compared to traditional methods.
• The platform showed potential for strengthening surgical planning memorization.

Conclusions:

• The proposed platform offers a user-friendly solution for enhancing cryosurgery pre-operative planning.
• It effectively integrates 3D visualization, simulation, and advanced technologies like augmented reality.
• The tool has the potential to be adopted in clinical practice for improved surgical outcomes.