Impact of 3-Dimensional Versus 2-Dimensional Image Distortion Correction on Stereotactic Neurosurgical Navigation Image Fusion Reliability for Images Acquired With Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Background: Fusion of preoperative and intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) studies during stereotactic navigation may be very useful for procedures such as tumor resections but can be subject to error because of image distortion.

Objective: To assess the impact of 3-dimensional (3D) vs 2-dimensional (2D) image distortion correction on the accuracy of auto-merge image fusion for stereotactic neurosurgical images acquired with iMRI using a head phantom in different surgical positions.

Methods: T1-weighted intraoperative images of the head phantom were obtained using 1.