The European research network "Augmented Reality in Surgery" (ARIS*ER) developed a system that supports
minimally invasive cardiac surgery based on augmented reality (AR) technology. The system supports the surgical team
during aortic endoclamping where a balloon catheter has to be positioned and kept in place within the aorta. The
presented system addresses the two biggest difficulties of the task: lack of visualization and difficulty in maneuvering the
catheter.
The system was developed using a user centered design methodology with medical doctors, engineers and human factor
specialists equally involved in all the development steps. The system was implemented using the AR framework
"Studierstube" developed at TU Graz and can be used to visualize in real-time the position of the balloon catheter inside
the aorta. The spatial position of the catheter is measured by a magnetic tracking system and superimposed on a 3D
model of the patient's thorax. The alignment is made with a rigid registration algorithm. Together with a user defined
target, the spatial position data drives an actuator which adjusts the position of the catheter in the initial placement and
corrects migrations during the surgery.
Two user studies with a silicon phantom show promising results regarding usefulness of the system: the users perform
the placement tasks faster and more accurately than with the current restricted visual support. Animal studies also
provided a first indication that the system brings additional value in the real clinical setting. This work represents a major
step towards safer and simpler minimally invasive cardiac surgery.
The European research network "Augmented reality in Surgery" (ARIS*ER) developed a system that supports
percutaneous radio frequency ablation of liver tumors. The system provides interventionists, during placement and
insertion of the RFA needle, with information from pre-operative CT images and real-time tracking data. A visualization
tool has been designed that aims to support (1) exploration of the abdomen, (2) planning of needle trajectory and (3)
insertion of the needle in the most efficient way. This work describes a first evaluation of the system, where user
performances and feedback of two visualization concepts of the tool - needle view and user view - are compared. After
being introduced to the system, ten subjects performed three needle placements with both concepts. Task fulfillment rate,
time for completion of task, special incidences, accuracy of needle placement recorded and analyzed. The results show
ambiguous results with beneficial and less favorable effects on user performance and workload of both concepts. Effects
depend on characteristics of intra-operative tasks as well as on task complexities depending on tumor location. The
results give valuable input for the next design steps.
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