Augmented Reality Registration System for Visualization of Skull Landmarks

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Medical Technology
• Surgical Simulation

Background:

• Augmented reality (AR) is an emerging technology with significant potential in neurosurgery for both patient care and trainee education.
• Advances in AR offer improved visualization and spatial awareness of critical neuroanatomic structures.
• This study introduces a novel AR registration system for visualizing and targeting skull landmarks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of a markerless AR system for visualizing and targeting skull landmarks.
• To assess the impact of AR assistance on the accuracy of identifying craniometric points.
• To gauge trainee confidence and perceived utility of AR in neurosurgical applications.

Main Methods:

• A markerless AR system was utilized with a head-mounted display to register 3D reconstructions of suture lines onto participants' heads.
• Participants identified craniometric points both with and without AR assistance.
• Targeting error was quantified using the Euclidean distance between the identified and true landmark locations.

Main Results:

• The AR system successfully registered 3D reconstructions onto participants' heads.
• AR significantly improved targeting accuracy, reducing error to 3.59 ± 1.29 mm.
• AR increased accuracy by an average of 19.96 ± 3.80 mm across all target points.
• Participants reported increased confidence (4.6/5) and perceived clinical utility (4.2/5) with AR.

Conclusions:

• This report demonstrates the feasibility of a markerless, headset-based AR system for visualizing skull craniometric points.
• While further innovation is needed, AR is poised to play a crucial role in transforming neurosurgical procedures and patient care.
• The study highlights AR's potential to enhance surgical precision and training in neurosurgery.