Impact of Virtual Reality Neurosurgical Simulation

Abstract

  The importance of medical images, which neurosurgeons must observe for surgical planning, is enormous. Neurosurgeons must execute the surgical planning through efficient visualization of the images. Historically, medical image processing techniques have been developed with the major aim of improving accuracy of disease diagnosis (e.g., the presence or absence of lesions). On the other hand, the main aim of surgical planning is to determine the treatment, therefore, medical imaging and surgical planning should be clearly distinguished. The use of virtual reality surgical simulation requires comprehensive judgment and visualization techniques, which reflect the knowledge and experience of the neurosurgeon as well as the optimization of medical image information. We report the virtual reality neurosurgical simulation to clarify the difference between radiological diagnosis and simulation.