Computergestützte Planung und Navigation neurochirurgischer Eingriffe an der Wirbelsäule Computer based Planning and Navigation of Neurosurgical Incisions at the Spine

Surgical intervention at the cervical spine bear a high risk of neurological deficits for the patient while the size of the operation field decrease, because of the trend towards minimal invasive surgery. Although conventional intraoperative imaging techniques, such as fluoroscopy have proven useful, they are limited in that they do not provide information continuously. Because of the intraoperative movement of the spine an orientation for the surgeon is very difficult regardless of imaging technology. An improvement is to extend the navigation system with an intraoperative warning system for risk structures. Since the location of the risk structure varies with the progress of the operation the internal model of the operation field will be updated through soft tissue simulation. With this the movement of the spine and the deformation of the surrounding soft tissue can be calculated [1]. Furthermore we analyze the drill noise to increase the safety of pedicle screw placement [2].