MarginView3D: A Novel Software Enabling Comprehensive Three-Dimensional Surgical Pathology Documentation for Improved...

Surgical pathology reports are crucial to the delivery of personalized and coordinated cancer management. However, traditional reports often lack clarity and comprehensiveness, which can lead to misinterpretation or suboptimal therapeutic planning. To address these issues, we developed MarginView3D^TM (MV3D), a novel surgical pathology reporting software. This software integrates real-time three-dimensional (3D) visualizations of surgical specimens, surgical defects, anatomic models, annotated radiographs, and audiovisual narrative summaries from surgeons and pathologists to enhance the care of patients with head and neck cancer.

We detail the internally developed MV3D surgical pathology reporting platform created by a multidisciplinary team incorporating open-source platforms, commercial 3D scanners, and medical illustrators. This software was piloted in 26 head and neck cancer cases over 6 months.

The software facilitates comprehensive margin mapping and pathology reporting in a range of procedures: palatomaxillectomy (n = 5), parotidectomy (n = 5), mandibulectomy (n = 5), oral cavity soft tissue resection (n = 5), laryngectomy/laryngopharyngectomy (n = 4), thyroidectomy (n = 1), and facial cutaneous malignancy resection (n = 1). Notably, 24 out of 26 surgeries achieved well-documented negative final margin statuses. The median number of inadequate margins ("margins at-risk") per case was 1.5 (range 0-6). The median number of supplemental tissue samples harvested per case was two (range 0-13).

MV3D enhances surgical pathology documentation by consolidating precise anatomic orientation, clear margin reconciliation, and narrative summaries offered by the surgeon and pathologist into one platform to aid in the treatment of head and neck cancer. MV3D has the potential to improve margin reporting, care coordination, adjuvant treatment planning, and personalized cancer management.