Web based Craniotomy Simulation |
| Author: Patrick Sim (University of Leeds MSc Project 1999/2000) |
| Introduction: The project is concerned with the design and development of a surgical simulation program that is accessible across the web. The simulation uses a VRML world to model the skull, and a Java applet to provide functionality to the simulator. |
| Aim: The task that is simulated ('Craniotomy') is the surgical removal of a piece of the cranium to allow access to the brain. In this simulation the task is to perform a craniotomy to enable surgical access to the tumour (shown in green) in the skull view, below. |
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The tumour is on the left side of the skull |
Operating the Simulator: |
| The simulator is completely operable with a mouse, and is of a point-and-click nature. |
| The left side panel of the simulator is taken up by the VRML world showing the skull, instrument and 'Scout' image. The right side panel is occupied by the CT scan viewer. Both panels are interactive. |
Modes
| There are three modes, selected by the radio buttons: |  |
| Scout mode is selected at the start and shows the 'Scout' image representing the various CT scan planes through the skull. This mode allows CT scan images to be selected without interaction with the skull model. |
| CT mode allows each of the CT scans arrayed beneath to be viewed in more detail. Also, the skull model indicates, for three seconds, the position of the CT scan (re-click on the CT image for this to be shown again). |
| Instrument mode allows the user to select the closest CT scan by clicking on the skull model. The CT scan is interactively shown on the viewer window and is highlighted with a red border in the CT array below. |
| A point on the skull can be selected by one click of the mouse button |
| To place a drill hole at a particular point, do two slow clicks within two seconds at the same location. |
Tasks
| The task is to estimate the location of the tumour
from the image above. Then by performing simulated
drilling holes to place a Craniotomy removel as close as
possible to the tumour. The craniotomy should ideally be
circular and a little larger than the tumour (though not
smaller, or too large). The pre-operational stage is to use the CT scans and the skull model to best determine where the tumour is located. Try and decide by reference to the scans where the craniotomy is to be placed. 1.The first two drill holes are burr holes (shown as black spots) 2.Then choose one burr hole to start a craniotomy from. Trace out the shape of the craniotomy using the drill points. These drill points will be shown as small red points. This is shown in the following diagram.
3.The drill holes must not loop over itself, otherwise it will not properly model. 4.After two red drill points are placed, the remove button will show. Pressing the remove button will cause the craniotomy to be removed, revealing the brain behind. 5. More than two points can be placed, depending on the shape of the craniotomy desired. |
Task Evaluation Criteria:
| There are three criteria used for evaluating the quality of the craniotomy performed, these are: |
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