NeuroPlan: A Surgical Planning Toolkit for an MRI-Compatible Stereotactic Neurosurgery Robot

Area of Science:

• Medical Robotics
• Neurosurgery
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Robotic image-guided surgery enhances minimally invasive procedures with improved accuracy.
• MRI-guided stereotactic robotic systems are used for precise brain tumor ablation.
• Complex robotic kinematics create non-trivial workspaces, challenging surgical planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a surgical planning toolkit, NeuroPlan, for an MRI-compatible stereotactic neurosurgery robot.
• To streamline surgical workflow by visualizing the robot's reachable workspace on MRI images.
• To assist in identifying optimal entry points by segmenting cranial burr hole volumes.

Main Methods:

• Developed NeuroPlan as a module for 3D Slicer software.
• Implemented workspace rendering and overlay on MRI images.
• Integrated cranial burr hole segmentation and center localization algorithms.

Main Results:

• Successfully rendered and overlaid the robot's reachable workspace on MRI scans.
• Demonstrated accurate segmentation of cranial burr hole volumes and identification of their centers.
• Validated workspace rendering and burr hole detection accuracy using phantom and animal study data.

Conclusions:

• NeuroPlan enhances surgical planning for MRI-guided robotic neurosurgery.
• Workspace visualization and automated burr hole detection improve navigation and accuracy.
• The toolkit offers a valuable solution for optimizing entry and target point selection in complex procedures.