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Image-guided surgery: Technology and opportunities for medical physics
Jeffrey H Siewerdsen1,2,3
1Departments of Imaging Physics, Radiation Physics, and Neurosurgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Medical Physics
|September 26, 2025
Summary
This review covers image-guided surgery technologies like navigation and robotics. Medical physicists can enhance surgical safety, integration, and quality assurance.
Area of Science:
- Medical physics
- Surgical technology
Background:
- Image-guided surgery (IGS) integrates advanced technologies into surgical procedures.
- Key IGS technologies include tracking/navigation, intraoperative imaging, image registration, visualization, and surgical robotics.
- These technologies span diverse surgical applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current technologies in image-guided surgery.
- To outline opportunities for medical physicists in surgical applications.
- To highlight areas for enhanced safety, system integration, and quality assurance.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of image-guided surgery technologies.
- Analysis of medical physicist roles in surgical settings.
Main Results:
- Comprehensive overview of IGS technologies provided.
- Identified roles for medical physicists in improving surgical safety.
- Highlighted potential for physicists in system integration and quality assurance.
Conclusions:
- Image-guided surgery relies on a spectrum of integrated technologies.
- Medical physicists possess opportunities to significantly contribute to surgical advancements.
- Enhanced expertise in safety, integration, and quality assurance is crucial for physicists in surgery.
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