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Patient-Specific Virtual Reality Systems for Surgical Oncology
The objective of this program is to develop a virtual reality-based (VR) training system to aid medical practitioners in preparation for surgical oncology.
A research from the NRC Industrial Materials Institute (NRC-IMI) tests NRC's neurosurgical haptic system, a beneficial teaching and rehearsal tool for surgeons.
As the most widely used method of cancer treatment, surgical oncology is evolving toward less invasive yet more complex procedures that require elaborate rehearsal. Virtual reality simulation, when combined with emerging imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), will enable the realistic rehearsal of patient-specific surgical procedures prior to actual surgery. In addition, the availability of VR simulators opens the possibility to more objective surgical training for medical students prior to certification. Clinical adoption of VR simulation will result in accelerated training, rapid adoption of new surgical techniques, better surgeries with minimal risk, and consequently, improved patient care.
The expertise and technologies developed in this project will provide a solid foundation for rehearsing difficult tumour resections such as brain, colorectal, prostate and breast cancer.
Research Success
The Patient-Specific Virtual reality Systems for Surgical Oncology project involves the collaborative efforts of experts from NRC research institutes located across Canada. The team is also strongly reinforced by a cross-Canada network of hospitals, represented by key surgeons from Vancouver to Halifax. To ensure clinical relevance of this project, progress is reported regularly to collaborators and is formally presented twice each year to a clinical advisory panel. Leading surgeons from across Canada have been greatly impressed by this technology, heralding it as “the best VR simulator [they] have ever seen,” and “unprecedented.” The objective of the project is already well in reach, as NRC prepares to deliver prototype simulators to its hospital collaborators within the coming year.
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Video depiction of world's first patient-specific virtual neurosurgery
