Lanny-yap: Virtual Brain Surgery

03 September 2009

Virtual Brain Surgery

Neurosurgeons in Halifax, Nova Scotia can practice surgeries on exact models of their patients' brains. NeuroTouch is a prototype simulator developed by Canada's National Research Council (NRC) and several other research groups.

First, patient data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is rendered into a 3-D, high-resolution model of an individual's brain. After the model is loaded into the system, doctors can touch and manipulate tumors and other virtual objects on screens in real time using a physical instrument resembling a scalpel. The instrument has six degrees of freedom and re-creates the force-feedback of the real tool and the varying resistance of tissue in brain regions with differing toughness. Meanwhile, photo-realistic on-screen imagery shows the simulated surgery, including bleeding and pulsing gray matter.

Sources: YouTube, CBC, Gizmodo, and MIT Technology Review

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03 September 2009

Virtual Brain Surgery

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