Accuracy evaluation of a 3D ultrasound-based neuronavigation system

Abstract

We have investigated the 3D navigation accuracy of a frameless ultrasound-based neuronavigation system (SonoWand) for surgical planning and intraoperative image guidance. In addition, we present a detailed description and review of the error sources associated with surgical neuronavigation based on preoperative MRI data and intraoperative ultrasound. A phantom with 27 precisely defined points was scanned with ultrasound by various translation and tilt movements of the ultrasound probe (180 3D scans in total), and the 27 image points in each volume were located using an automatic detection algorithm. These locations were compared to the physically measured locations of the same 27 points. The accuracy of the neuronavigation system and the effect of varying acquisition conditions were found through a thorough statistical analysis of the differences between the two point sets. The accuracy was found to be 1.40 +/- 0.45 mm (arithmetic mean) for the ultrasound-based neuronavigation system in our laboratory setting. Improper probe calibration was the major contributor to this figure. Based on our extensive data set and thorough evaluation, the accuracy found in the laboratory setting is expected to be close to the overall clinical accuracy for ultrasound-based neuronavigation. Our analysis indicates that the overall clinical accuracy may be as low as 2 mm when using intraoperative imaging to compensate for brain shift.

Patient-specific model of brain deformation: Application to medical image registration

“…Thus, the required amount of intra-operative information is much less than when determining position of pathology during surgery using high resolution intra-operative MRIs. Such information can be obtained using imaging modalities more readily available in operating theatres, such as multi-planar MRIs (Iskandar et al, 2004) or ultrasound (Letteboer et al, 2005;Lindseth et al, 2002).…”

Neuronavigation based on intraoperative 3D-ultrasound during tumor resection

“…The easy intraoperative repeatability of 3D-iUS offers a considerable benefit with respect to brain shift problem [9]. The acquisition and presentation of a 3D-iUS dataset requires about 5 min.…”

Metabolic and Functional Brain Mapping, Connectivity and Plasticity Applied to the Surgery of Cerebral Tumors

“…First, the combination of neuronavigation system with data from intraoperative ultrasound, which produces real-time imaging, has provided the opportunity to partially overcome errors caused by tissue movement [285][286][287][288][289][290][291][292][293][294][295]. Second, the use of mathematical models and computational methods based on data from intraoperative ultrasound or digital images that track cortical displacement and movements of known landmarks has been suggested [296][297][298][299], while complex, expensive and time consuming [300].…”