Model-Updated Image Guidance: A Statistical Approach to Gravity-Induced Brain Shift

Compensating for intraoperative brain shift using computational models has been used with promising results. Since computational time is an important factor during neurosurgery, a prior knowledge of a patient's orientation and changes in tissue buoyancy force would be valuable information to aid in predicting shift due to gravitational forces. Since the latter is difficult to quantify intraoperatively, a statistical model for predicting intraoperative brain deformations due to gravity is reported. This statistical model builds on a computational model developed earlier. For a given set of patient's orientation and amount of CSF drainage, the intraoperative brain shift is calculated using the computational model. These displacements are then validated against measured displacements to predict the intraoperative brain shift. Though initial results are promising, further study is needed before the statistical model can be used for model-updated image-guided surgery.