New Imaging Technology Renders Patient "Transparent

This means a tumor visible on a medical image can now be seen at the location of the actual tumor.

A computer superimposes 3-D computer images taken from a patient's own computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) data onto the video view for display on a surgeon's head-mounted display. This display carries three miniature cameras. Two of these capture a stereoscopic view of the surgical site, while the third is used for viewpoint tracking, in combination with optical markers framing the surgical site.

"The ability to look inside the patient and see the tumor in three-dimensional space from different angles helps the surgeon determine the best route to the tumor,” says Frank Sauer, Ph.D., project manager in the imaging and visualization department of Siemens Corporate Research (SCR, Princeton, NJ, USA). "The dynamic viewpoint provides a very direct and intuitive understanding of even complex anatomy.”

Dr. Sauer has been working on the project with Gregory J. Rubino, M.D., of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine for almost a year. They are exploring in situ visualization with a variety of medical imaging modalities, including CT and MR and ultrasound. Preclinical tests show promising results. The two researchers estimate that a prototype could be ready to enter clinical testing and evaluation in six months.




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