Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Visual Computing for Liver Surgery Planning

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A research group consisting of five scientists at MeVis Research Bremen (Director Prof. Peitgen) developed image analysis and visualization techniques for liver surgery planning aiming at an optimal support for oncologic liver resections as well as living donor liver transplantations. The clinical problems to be solved include decisions with respect to the resection strategy and the evaluation of potential donors for living donor liver transplantation. Major research goals were:

  • To develop an efficient, accurate, and smooth visualization of hepatic vessels in order to support the evaluation of vascular abnormalities,
  • The analysis of the branching structure of vascular structures in order to assess which portions of the liver are affected by the intended resection or transplantation strategy with respect to an impaired blood supply or venous drainage,
  • To provide facilities for the quantitative analysis of liver tumors (size, volume) and its spatial relation to the surrounding anatomical structures,
  • To provide visualization and interaction strategies for virtually resection planning of the liver.

These research goals could be fulfilled and the results were published at major conferences and in a journal [Pre00,Hah01,Pre02,Sel02,Kon04].

The image analysis and visualization methods were integrated in two software assistants, MeVis LiverAnalyzer (formerly HepaVision) and MeVis LiverExplorer (formerly InterventionPlanner), intended for regular clinical use. After evaluating different stages of software prototypes and refined user interface design and documentation, it turned out that many liver surgeons are interested in actually using the software. This lead to the foundation of the company MeVis Distant Services AG in 2004. The software was further refined and received FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval. Since 2002, the software has been used for planning more than 2500 complex and challenging surgical interventions world-wide (2/3 in Japan and in the US). The core algorithms for image analysis and visualization are still the methods originally developed in four publicly funded research projects. Current research again is strictly guided by clinical needs and attempts to support liver surgeons with appropriate intraoperative visualizations and with dedicate support for radio-frequency ablations.

References:

[Hah01] Horst Hahn, Bernhard Preim, Dirk Selle, and Heinz-Otto Peitgen. Visualization and Interaction Techniques for the Exploration of Vascular Structures. In IEEE Visualization (San Diego, Oktober), pages 395-402, 2001.
[Kon04] Olaf Konrad-Verse, Bernhard Preim, and Arne Littmann. Virtual Resection with a Deformable Cutting plane. In Simulation und Visualisierung 2004, pages 203-214. SCS, 2004
[Pre00] Bernhard Preim, Dirk Selle, Wolf Spindler, Karl J. Oldhafer, and Heinz-Otto Peitgen. Interaction Techniques and Vessel analysis for Preoperative Planning in Liver Surgery. In Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention (MICCAI, Pittsburgh, Oktober), volume 1935 of LNCS, pages 608-617, 2000
[Pre02] Bernhard Preim, Christian Tietjen, Wolf Spindler, and Heinz-Otto Peitgen. Integration of Measurement Tools in Medical Visualizations. In IEEE Visualization, pages 21-28, 2002
[Sel02] Dirk Selle, Bernhard Preim, Andrea Schenk, and Heinz-Otto-Peitgen. Analysis of Vasculature for Liver Surgery Planning. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 21(11):1344-1357, November 2002
Retrieved from "http://www.sci.utah.edu/vissuccess/index.php/Visual_Computing_for_Liver_Surgery_Planning"
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