Analysis and Visualization of the Brain Shift Phenomenon in Neurosurgery

Abstract

In this paper we present a method for analyzing the brain shift. The brain shift is a brain deformation phenomenon, that occurs during surgical operations on the opened head. This deformation makes navigation within the brain very difficult for the surgeon, as preoperative magnetic resonance images invalidate very quickly after the beginning of the operation. Up to now not enough is known about this deformation phenomenon in order to come up with solutions for corrective action. The aim of the tool which is presented here is to prepare ground for a better understanding by visualizing the deformation between two 3D brain data sets, where one has been taken preoperatively and the second one during the operation after the brain shift has occured. We propose a new method for the modeling of the deformation by means of efficient distance determination of two deformable surface approximations. Color coding and semi-transparent overlay of the surfaces provides qualitative and quantitative information about the brain shift. The provided insight may lead to a prediction method in future.