Phantom study of SPECT/CT augmented reality for intraoperative localization of sentinel lymph nodes in head and neck melanoma.

Objective: To show that augmented reality (AR) visualization of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) data in 3D can be used to accurately localize targets in the head and neck region.

Materials And Methods: Eight head and neck styrofoam phantoms were painted with a mixture of radioactive solution (Tc-99m) detectable with a handheld gamma probe and fluorescent ink visible only under ultraviolet (UV) light to create 10-20 simulated lymph nodes on their surface. After obtaining SPECT/CT images of these phantoms, virtual renderings of the nodes were generated from the SPECT/CT data and displayed using a commercially available AR headset.

A Patient-Specific Mixed-Reality Visualization Tool for Thoracic Surgical Planning.

Purpose: Identifying small lung lesions during minimally invasive thoracic surgery can be challenging. We describe 3-dimensional mixed-reality visualization technology that may facilitate noninvasive nodule localization.

Description: A software application and medical image processing pipeline were developed for the Microsoft HoloLens to incorporate patient-specific data and provide a mixed-reality tool to explore and manipulate chest anatomy with a custom-designed user interface featuring gesture and voice recognition.

MR imaging of magnetic ink patterns via off-resonance sensitivity.

Purpose: Printed magnetic ink creates predictable B field perturbations based on printed shape and magnetic susceptibility. This can be exploited for contrast in MR imaging techniques that are sensitized to off-resonance. The purpose of this work was to characterize the susceptibility variations of magnetic ink and demonstrate its application for creating MR-visible skin markings.