Nucleode

The current navigation systems are expensive, cumbersome and based on obsolete technologies. Technical and user-experience choices are not always adequate in an increasingly specialized context of use.

Pre-operative assessments are currently performed using three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions which are not accurate enough for the intended surgical use. Neuronavigation systems are the best option available, in addition to, the 3D images they provide are limited because they are based on 2D image analysis. The surgeon therefore needs to operate while mentally creating a 3D image based on three 2D reconstructions (axial, coronal and sagittal) and relying upon previous operating room experience. Furthermore, the current communication software does not convey information efficiently and do not highlight some of the difficulties that may arise during surgery. The quality of information available during pre-operative briefings is of increasing importance for surgery outcomes. In this respect, in 2013 Oishi et al. showed that performing surgical planning on computer graphics devices and in 3D is more useful than using 2D devices in 44% of cases.

Project Kiron leads mixed-reality to your operating room. Using the Microsoft HoloLens, you can see a virtual model of the brain projected onto your visual field. Our solution can show you cancerous tumor area, brain aneurysm, vascular malformation, assist and guide you along anatomical and functional pathways of the brain and spinal cord. The project aims at developing the current navigation systems, offering surgeons more sophisticated and thus more useful information. Holograms that faithfully reproduce the 3D model of the patient’s brain, showing both cortical surfaces and deep structures, including tissue vascularization, are created using data acquired through neurodiagnostic testing (high field MRI scan, CAT scan). In addition to exclusively anatomic data, functional data and tractographies of neural tracts can be provided through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).