Augmented-reality visualization in iMRI operating room: system description and preclinical testing
Frank D. Sauer, Ali Khamene, B. Bascle, Sebastian K. Vogt, Gregory J. Rubino · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2002
We developed an augmented reality system targeting image guidance for surgical procedures. The surgeon wears a video- see-through head mounted display that provides him with a stereo video view of the patient. The live video images are augmented with graphical representations of anatomical structures that are segmented from medical image data. The surgeon can see, e.g., a tumor in its actual location inside the patient. This in-situ visualization, where the computer maps the image information onto the patient, promises the most direct, intuitive guidance for surgical procedures. In this paper, we describe technical details of the system and its installation in UCLA's iMRI operating room. We added instrument tracking to the capabilities of our system to prepare it for minimally invasive procedures. We discuss several pre-clinical phantom experiments that support the potential clinical usefulness of augmented reality guidance.