[Am-info] 'See-Through' Patients Aid Surgeons

[Fred A. Miller]

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'See-Through' Patients Aid Surgeons

Surgery, being all about precision, would be easier if bodies=20
weren't so ... cluttered. Siemens Corporate Research thinks it=20
has an answer: let surgeons see through flesh and bone. A team=20
led by physicist Frank Sauer has developed a prototype of a=20
head-mounted augmented-reality display that provides the wearer=20
with a magnified, 3-D view of an incision area based on a=20
real-time computer scan of a patient's body. Surgeons could use=20
the device to pinpoint the best location for slicing.

The technology holds particular promise for cranial procedures.=20
When incisions are made in the skull, pressure inside the head=20
forces the brain toward the incision, making it harder to=20
identify where on the brain to operate. By taking a computer scan=20
at that moment and viewing it with the head-mounted display, a=20
surgeon could see how far a tumor or other irregularity has=20
shifted.

Augmented-reality surgery has been discussed for at least a=20
decade, Sauer says, but computing power only recently made it=20
possible. Sauer hopes the device can be brought to clinical=20
trials so "within two to three years we have something=20
worthwhile." A commercial version of the augmented-reality=20
headgear could be on the market in four or five years. - Tony=20
Kontzer=20

For more on computer imaging, read:
Virtual Landscape: A Fantastic Human Voyage
http://update.informationweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=3DeHDN0Bce7K0V20BcQR0AP

Small Devices Deliver Big Health Benefits
http://update.informationweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=3DeHDN0Bce7K0V20BcQS0AQ

- --=20
Fred A. Miller
Systems Administrator
Cornell Univ. Press Services
fm@cupserv.org, www.cupserv.org
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