In Brief
- Future operating room systems will be characterized by computer technology, high-resolution imaging, IT networking, minimally invasive surgery and robotics. Doctors, technicians, engineers and computer specialists will work together more extensively to advance these developments
- Doctors will increasingly plan operations in great detailfor example, by simulating virtual journeys through the patient's body. This means that each operation will be carefully adapted to suit the individual needs of the patient
- An increasing number of operations, minimally invasive operations in particular, will be carried out with the assistance of robots. At present only around 200 medical robots worldwide are in use. Robots increase the quality of medical care because they are more accurate than human hands. Nevertheless, they do not and will not operate on patients alone. Their role will instead be to support the surgeon. Telesurgery and teleconsultation are considered by many medical experts to be questionable because responsibility for procedures should lie with the surgeon
- Probably the most far-reaching operating room technology will be in situ visualization. The technology can use a head mounted display (HMD) or semi-transparent plate to superimpose computer-generated data on images of the patient. Because these data (3D images of anatomical structures, for example) is displayed in exactly the right size, form and position, the patient becomes "transparent" as far as the surgeon is concerned
- Researchers are developing novel ways of checking for polyps or abnormalities in the lower intestine, esophagus, bronchi and major arteries. Diagnostic procedures in these areas are set to be transformed by technologies that allow physicians virtually to "fly through" parts of the body
- A new field called "interactive computer-aided diagnostics" is on the horizon. The idea is to allow radiologists to look at, say, 500 CT images in an acceptable time frame, highlight regions that look suspicious, isolate them from the volume data and make measurements
- Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have developed molecules that glow at infrared wavelengths when exposed to the metabolic processes in cancer cells. Siemens has developed and tested a device that detects these molecule when they glow. The method holds the potential of allowing specific forms of tumors to be differentiated
- Siemens is working with other companies to bring genetic testing products to market. Down the road are microchips that will be able to perform thousands of geneticand eventually proteintests simultaneously
CONTACTS
Siemens Medical Solutions:
Dr. Gerd Wessels, MED SP Solutions
Siemens Corporate Research:
Frank Sauer
LINKS
Siemens Corporate Research:
UCLA Research, Neurosurgery:
www.neurosurgery. medsch.ucla.edu
University Clinic Mainz,Dept. of Neurosurgery:
www-klinik.uni-mainz.de/Neurochir/english
Charité Berlin,Surgical Robotics Lab:
Carnegie Mellon University Medical Robotics:
LITERATURE
Rubino, G. et al:
Interventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Guided Neurosurgery,
Siemens electromedica 68, neuro 2000
Sauer, F. et.al.:
A Head-Mounted Display System for Augmented Reality Image Guidance: Towards Clinical Evaluation for iMRI-guided Neurosurgery,
Lecture Notes in Computer Science (2001)
Contact:
sauer.frank@siemens.com
