Augmented Reality System to Support Prostate Surgery Procedures

An innovative navigation system under development will pinpoint specific prostate regions for more in-depth analysis, resulting in safer, more effective laparoscopic surgery and improved prognosis of prostate cancer.

Kitware (Clifton Park, NY, USA), the Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology (CISST ERC, Baltimore, MD, USA) and Blue Torch Medical Technologies (Rockville, MD, USA) will collaborate to create an augmented reality (AR) visualization prototype with intraoperatively updated anatomical models, allowing the surgeon to perceive the multimodality information more effectively and thereby perform prostatectomies with improved accuracy.

The human/machine collaborative system will fuse together preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the prostate and surrounding tissue together with a video feed from the da Vinci robotic surgery system, while compensating for nonrigid prostate tissue deformation using intraoperative transrectal ultrasound (TRUS). The AR will potentially allow surgeons to perform prostatectomies with enhanced safety and efficacy, thereby leading to improved outcomes and fewer complications.

“Our goal is to better equip surgeons during robot-assisted prostate surgery by improving their ability to visualize the prostate and surrounding critical anatomy,” said principal investigator electrical and computer engineer Andinet Enquobahrie, PhD. “This will lead to more accurate and reliable guidance and better surgical outcomes.”

Augmented reality is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics, or localization data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified--possibly even diminished rather than augmented--by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.

Related Links:
Kitware
Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology
Blue Torch Medical Technologies