Image-guided surgery
Notes:
Image and info obtained fromhttp://www.mvis.com/html/healthcare on 9/14/98.
�Widespread use of imaging techniques in medical diagnostics has made healthcare professionals increasingly dependent upon high quality visual displays for the analysis and interpretation of diagnostic images. Such sophisticated techniques as ultrasound, nuclear medical imaging, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are critical sources of information-rich electronic images used by surgeons.
In the emerging field of �image guided surgery,� such complex visual data is displayed to assist the physician during a surgical procedure. However, current systems require surgeons to refer to images on inconveniently located CRT monitors and to instruments on the periphery of the operating theater, away from the work at hand.
A more desirable solution is to present high contrast, high resolution and full color images in the surgeon's field of view, where he may refer to them at any time during the procedure without looking away from his work. Using VRD technology, an image can be superimposed over the target area on the patient's body to help guide the surgeon's hands through the procedure.
Image guided surgery would be especially useful during delicate procedures involving the brain and spine. This technique will represent a market approaching $10 billion by the year 2000, according to industry analysts.�
Real-life example: Wallace-Kettering Institute