STEPS

Endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary surgery is a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure, applied to remove various kinds of pituitary tumors. To reduce the risk for the patient, the surgeon must be well-trained and well-prepared. Virtual endoscopy can be beneficial as a tool for training, preoperative planning and intraoperative support. STEPS (Simulation of Transsphenoidal Endonasal Pituitary Surgery) is a virtual endoscopy system designed to aid surgeons in getting acquainted with the endoscopic view, the handling of instruments, the transsphenoidal approach and challenges associated with the procedure. STEPS also assists experienced surgeons in planning a real endoscopic intervention by getting familiar with the individual patient anatomy, identifying landmarks, planning the approach and deciding upon the ideal target position of the actual surgical activity. The application provides interactive visualization, navigation and perception aids and the possibility to simulate the procedure, including haptic feedback and simulation of surgical instruments. This project is carried out in partnership with the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical University Vienna that has tested, evaluated and assessed the software within the scope of a research project. Besides various publications, presentations and talks within the computer graphics as well as the medical community, two awards have been received: MedVis Award (Karl Heinz Höhne Preis, GI + Brainlab, Germany) and the Best Applications Paper Award, IEEE Visualization 2004

Solution/Newness