Accuracy Evaluation Trial of Mixed Reality-Guided Spinal Puncture Technology

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging and Visualization
• Surgical Navigation
• Mixed Reality Applications

Background:

• Spinal punctures require high precision to avoid complications.
• Traditional methods rely on anatomical landmarks and fluoroscopy, which have limitations.
• Mixed reality (MR) offers a potential solution for enhanced intraoperative guidance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of a novel mixed reality (MR)-guided visualization technology for spinal puncture (MRsp).
• To assess the setup and registration errors associated with the MRsp system.

Main Methods:

• Developed an MRsp system using HoloLens (2nd gen) to superimpose 3D virtual spine models from CT data onto the patient.
• Recruited 12 subjects for accuracy assessment.
• Quantified setup errors using marker displacement between CT scans and registration errors by comparing virtual projections to anatomical landmarks on the real spine.

Main Results:

• Setup errors for cranial and caudal markers were minimal across LR, AP, and SI axes (e.g., SI: 0.22 ± 0.12 cm and 0.18 ± 0.10 cm).
• Registration errors between virtual markers and real spinous processes (L3↑, L3↓, L4↓) were also low, particularly in the SI direction (0.11–0.15 cm).

Conclusions:

• The MR-guided visualization technology for spinal puncture demonstrates high accuracy.
• The system effectively superimposes reconstructed 3D CT images onto the real human spine.
• This technology shows promise for improving the precision and safety of spinal puncture procedures.