Medical Robotics, visualisation and navigation

Most minimally invasive procedures restrict the access and direct vision to the regions which require surgery. Such procedures require intra-operative image modalities such as x-ray, ultrasound or endoscopic images to be able to monitor the procedure in real-time.  In many cases this information is not sufficient to perform the procedure accurately and safely. Merging information acquired pre-operatively, mainly from for instance MRI, CT or PET, with intra-operative data can increase the basis for decisions and thereby improve the safety and accuracy of the procedure. The Medical Robotics, visualization and navigation group develops cutting edge technological solutions which support minimally invasive procedures. In particular, the group is focused on developing real-time image-segmentation and - registration methods. Visualization and navigation is required to present the medical images to the surgeon intra-operatively. 3D video will be more and more cross-linked with medical image information and move toward robotics and automation of surgical procedures. The research group is doing research in all these fields of technology facilitating minimally invasive surgery.