Clinical Application of an Augmented Reality Navigation System for Transforaminal Epidural Injection: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Augmented reality (AR) navigation systems are emerging to simplify and enhance the precision of medical procedures. Lumbosacral transforaminal epidural injection is a commonly performed procedure for the treatment and diagnosis of radiculopathy. Accurate needle placement while avoiding critical structures remains a challenge.

Augmented Reality-Assisted Navigation System for Transforaminal Epidural Injection.

Purpose: Multiple studies have attempted to demonstrate the benefits of augmented reality (AR)-assisted navigation systems in surgery. Lumbosacral transforaminal epidural injection is an effective treatment commonly used in patients with radiculopathy due to spinal degenerative pathologies. However, few studies have applied AR-assisted navigation systems to this procedure.

Augmented Reality Assisted Surgical Navigation System for Epidural Needle Intervention.

An augmented reality (AR)-assisted surgical navigation system was developed for epidural needle intervention. The system includes three components: a virtual reality-based surgical planning software, a patient and tool tracking system, and an AR-based surgical navigation system. A three-dimensional (3D) path plan for the epidural needle was established on the preoperative computed tomography (CT) image.

Spatiotemporal Free-Form Registration Method Assisted by a Minimum Spanning Tree During Discontinuous Transformations.

The sliding motion along the boundaries of discontinuous regions has been actively studied in B-spline free-form deformation framework. This study focusses on the sliding motion for a velocity field-based 3D+t registration. The discontinuity of the tangent direction guides the deformation of the object region, and a separate control of two regions provides a better registration accuracy.

Topological recovery for non-rigid 2D/3D registration of coronary artery models.

Background And Objective: Intra-operative X-ray angiography, the current standard method for visualizing and diagnosing cardiovascular disease, is limited in its ability to provide essential 3D information. These limitations are disadvantages in treating patients. For example, it is a cause of lowering the success rate of interventional procedures.

Erratum: Multicolor fluorescence imaging using a single RGB-IR CMOS sensor for cancer detection with smURFP-labeled probiotics: publisher's note.

[This corrects the article on p. 2951 in vol. 11, PMID: 32637234.

A Patient-Specific 3Dt Coronary Artery Motion Modeling Method Using Hierarchical Deformation with Electrocardiogram.

Cardiovascular-related diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. An understanding of heart movement based on images plays a vital role in assisting postoperative procedures and processes. In particular, if shape information can be provided in real-time using electrocardiogram (ECG) signal information, the corresponding heart movement information can be used for cardiovascular analysis and imaging guides during surgery.

3D Pose and Curvature Estimation of Bendable Interventional Device using Single-view X-ray Image.

We present a novel method to estimate the 3D pose and curvature of bendable interventional devices using a single X-ray image. A preliminary experiment was performed to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method. The mean estimation accuracies were 3.

Lumbar Vertebrae Synthetic Segmentation in Computed Tomography Images Using Hybrid Deep Generative Adversarial Networks.

The lumbar vertebrae segmentation in Computed tomography (CT) is challenging due to the scarcity of the labeled training data that we define as paired training data for the deep learning technique. Much of the available data is limited to the raw CT scans, unlabeled by radiologists. To handle the scarcity of labeled data, we utilized a hybrid training system by combining paired and unpaired training data and construct a hybrid deep segmentation generative adversarial network (Hybrid-SegGAN).

An anatomical neurovascular study for procedures targeting peri-articular nerves in patients with anterior knee pain.

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the articular branches innervating the anterior knee capsule has been studied as a possible alternative to surgery for degenerative arthritis. However, the neurovascular topography of the anterior knee capsule remains unclear.

Methods: One leg from each of the 20 formalin-embalmed cadaveric specimens was investigated.

Multicolor fluorescence imaging using a single RGB-IR CMOS sensor for cancer detection with smURFP-labeled probiotics.

A multicolor fluorescence imaging device was recently developed for image-guided surgery. However, conventional systems are typically bulky and function with two cameras. To overcome these issues, we developed an economical home-built fluorescence imaging device based on a single RGB-IR sensor that can acquire both color and fluorescence images simultaneously.

A Skin-Conformal, Stretchable, and Breathable Fiducial Marker Patch for Surgical Navigation Systems.

Augmented reality (AR) surgical navigation systems have attracted considerable attention as they assist medical professionals in visualizing the location of ailments within the human body that are not readily seen with the naked eye. Taking medical imaging with a parallel C-shaped arm (C-arm) as an example, surgical sites are typically targeted using an optical tracking device and a fiducial marker in real-time. These markers then guide operators who are using a multifunctional endoscope apparatus by signaling the direction or distance needed to reach the affected parts of the body.

Three-Dimensional Evaluation of Similarity of Right and Left Knee Joints.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anatomical similarity of three-dimensional (3D) morphometric parameters between right and left knees.

Materials And Methods: Ten fresh-frozen paired cadaveric knees were tested. Following dissection, footprint areas of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) were measured.

Automatic segmentation and user-friendly software techniques for virtual surgical planning of mandibular reconstruction.

Compared to conventional mandibular reconstruction surgery, a recent approach of virtual planning can reduce surgical time providing reliable surgical outcomes. We present our virtual surgical planning software using automatic segmentation and user-friendly techniques. Evaluation experiments compared with a commercial software prove that the proposed software can achieve successful surgical planning in reduced time with reliable accuracy.

Stability of the permanently bent plates used in mandibular reconstructive surgery.

In mandibular reconstructive surgery, straight surgical plates are predominantly used for osteotomy. In this process, a straight plate is bent to fit to the shape of the patient's defect. This potentially compromises the stability of the plate because of changes in mechanical properties resulting from plastic deformation; however, the effect of plastic deformation on stability has yet been investigated.

Automatic segmentation of supraspinatus from MRI by internal shape fitting and autocorrection.

Background And Objectives: With significant increase in the number of people suffering from shoulder problems, the automatic image segmentation of the supraspinatus (one of the shoulder muscles) has become necessary for efficient and deliberate diagnosis and surgery. In this study, we developed an automatic segmentation method to extract the three-dimensional (3D) configuration of the supraspinatus, and we compared our segmentation results with reference segmentations obtained by experts.

Methods: We developed a two-stage active contour segmentation method using the level sets approach to automatically extract the supraspinatus configuration.

Registration accuracy enhancement of a surgical navigation system for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A phantom and cadaveric study.

Background: Recently, surgical navigation systems have been widely used to improve the results of various orthopaedic surgeries. However, surgical navigation has not been successful in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, owing to its inaccuracy and inconvenience. This study investigated the registration of preoperative and intraoperative data, which are the key components in improving accuracy of the navigation system.

Preliminary Study for Designing a Novel Vein-Visualizing Device.

Venipuncture is an important health diagnosis process. Although venipuncture is one of the most commonly performed procedures in medical environments, locating the veins of infants, obese, anemic, or colored patients is still an arduous task even for skilled practitioners. To solve this problem, several devices using infrared light have recently become commercially available.

Arthroscopically blind anatomical anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using only navigation guidance: a cadaveric study.

Background: To develop a preoperative planning and navigation system for anatomic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and to evaluate the accuracy and the efficacy of anatomical ACL reconstruction using only navigation guidance.

Methods: A three-dimensional (3D) preoperative planning and navigation system was developed from open source libraries. Twenty knees from 10 fresh-frozen human cadavers underwent navigation-only guided double-bundle ACL reconstruction using the transportal technique.

The Effect of Optical Marker Configuration on Tracking Accuracy in Image Guided Surgery.

In this study, the effect of the geometrical configuration of retroreflective markers on the maximum tracking uncertainty of target points during a medical navigation is analyzed. Methods that help users select and set up an optimal configuration for minimizing the navigation uncertainty are proposed. The methods are evaluated by simulating surgical navigation environment using an optical tracking system.

Markerless surgical robotic system for intracerebral hemorrhage surgery.

Conventional intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) surgery uses a stereotactic frame to access an intracerebral hematoma. Using a stereotactic frame for ICH surgery requires a long preparation time. In order to resolve this problem, we propose a markerless surgical robotic system.

Active contour segmentation using level set function with enhanced image from prior intensity.

This paper presents a new active contour segmentation model using a level set function that can correctly capture both the strong and the weak boundaries of a target enclosed by bright and dark regions at the same time. We introduce an enhanced image obtained from prior information about the intensity of the target. The enhanced image emphasizes the regions where pixels have intensities close to the prior intensity.

Automatic segmentation of leg bones by using active contours.

In this paper, we present a new active contours model to segment human leg bones in computed tomography images that is based on a variable-weighted combination of local and global intensity. This model can split an object surrounded by both weak and strong boundaries, and also distinguish very adjacent objects with those boundaries. The ability of this model is required for segmentation in medical images, e.

Factors affecting capsular volume changes and association with outcomes after Bankart repair and capsular shift.

Background: Capsular laxity is a main contributing factor in recurrent shoulder instability and is suggested to be correlated with increased capsular volume. Arthroscopic capsular shift combined with Bankart repair can reduce the capsular volume and reinforce the redundant capsule; however, as the capsuloligamentous structure has viscoelastic properties, it is possible for the shifted and tensioned capsule of the glenohumeral joint to slowly stretch out again over time, resulting in an increase in capsular volume.

Purpose: To analyze changes in capsular volume of the glenohumeral joint over time after arthroscopic Bankart repair and capsular shift, the factors associated with these changes, and their relevance to outcomes.