Augmented Reality in Transoral Robotic Surgery for Tongue Base Cancer
Project Type: Internship or Master Thesis
Subject financially supported by the LABEX CAMI,
http://cami-labex.fr/
Location: LIRMM Lab. (University of Montpellier, France)
Contact persons:
Duration: 6 months.
Context and background
Medical interventions (surgery, interventional radiology, radiotherapy) can benefit from a significant boost for progress in terms of optimal planning, performance and consistence. The Computer Assisted Medical Interventional (CAMI LABEX) strategic vision is that an integrated approach of medical interventions will result breakthroughs in terms of quality of medical interventions, demonstrated in terms of medical benefits and degree penetration of CAMI technology in routine clinical practice.
Inside the context of tongue base cancer, the development of robot-assisted trans-oral endoscopic techniques has greatly improved the management of this disease. Indeed, it allows exposure and resection of tumors that used to be difficult of access and so reduces the post-operative morbidity and improves the surgical outcomes (tracheotomy, resumption of feeding, length of stay).
One major limitation of this surgical approach is the per-operative recognition of the tumor boundaries, making exeresis margins hard to delimit.
Augmented reality, by superimposing a virtual modeling of the tumor to the per-operative endoscopic view, would allow the precise identification of these tumor boundaries and so could improve the efficacy and the tolerance of the tongue base carcinological surgery.
However, some issues still need to be resolved in the field of augmented reality for soft tissues and notably the per-operative tissue deformation.
The actual work will aim to offer a solution to this problem by creating, with a simulation software (SOFA) a virtual biomechanical model of the tongue base area based on MRI data acquired preoperatively. The dynamic simulation created by this software will be superimposed in real time to the endoscopic per operative view which will allow the surgeon to visualized, during the surgery, the tumor boundaries and the tissular deformation caused by the surgery.
The main objective of this project is to explore this option to initiate the implementation of an augmented reality system in trans-oral robot assisted surgery of tongue base cancer.
Proposal
The recruited student will work in collaboration with a resident in ENT surgery in order to create a virtual biomechanical model for tongue base area and to validate the SOFA software to simulate the model deformations.
Methodology will be as follows:
- Creation of plastisol tongue base phantoms containing a tumor.
- 3D Virtual modelling of the phantoms:
- Acquisition of MRI images.
b. Semi manual segmentation of MRI images.
c. Volumetric mesh.
d. Parameterization of the biomechanical model.
- Biomechanical simulation with SOFA of these models deformations.
- Validation of the created models and of the simulation of their deformations.
3. Required knowledge
- Experience and skills in biomedical Engineering and soft tissue biomechanics.
- C/C++ programming. Experience with in image processing and simulation of soft tissue is a plus
- Good command of English or French is expected.