Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3
. Depiction of the CyberKnife miniature linear accelerator mounted on the robotic
manipulator with the two orthogonal amorphous silicon x-ray cameras used for image guid-
ance (right) along with the computer display of the treatment plan for a cavernous sinus men-
ingioma showing the radiation isodose curves in the axial, coronal, and sagittal views, and
three-dimensional depiction of the selected beam trajectories that define the robot's sequential
vectors and positions in physical space.
could be positioned remotely, for example, from a battlefield operating room or
possibly a space station, and perform critical portions of an operation (2,23).
U.S. Army laboratories have demonstrated the feasibility of such remote sys-
tems in large animal experiments in which a trained paramedic would make a
surgical opening into an abdomen to expose the organ requiring surgical correc-
tion. After manual positioning of monocular or binocular stereoscopic video
cameras by the paramedic, the surgeon would use similar micromanipulators to
operate remotely with standard surgical tools. At the present time, if the dis-
tances are quite long and the surgical objects have some motion, the response
time can be too slow for remote adjustment of the position of the surgical tools
being manipulated. However, motion tracking and position prediction may allow
compensation for signal delay.
3.2. Advanced Volume Rendering
Computer graphic techniques depicting a simulated surgical field are now
available and are used routinely by neurosurgeons for surgical planning. At this
