Dear Advanced Visualization Insider,
Researchers are continuously discovering new ways to incorporate augmented reality technology into clinical practice, particularly for presurgical planning and intraoperative guidance.
Such was the case at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands, where a team of clinicians used a form of augmented reality -- known as mixed reality -- to visualize holograms based on MRI scans of patients' brain tumors directly on their head before tumor removal. Find out just how well this advanced visualization technique fared compared with conventional neuronavigation by clicking here.
Augmented reality has proved beneficial for spinal surgery as well. Read about how a group from Sweden used the technology to overlay 3D conebeam CT scans onto a real-time video as surgeons implanted pedicle screws into patients' spines by clicking here.
Such developments have contributed to the recent surge in Chinese investments into augmented reality technology. Discover why business consultants from Digi-Capital believe that European and North American investors have been more hesitant to dive into the market this past year by clicking here.
In its own way, 3D printing has also played a key role in improving surgical techniques. Investigators from Switzerland, for example, used the technique to create patient-specific 3D-printed models that helped surgeons plan and perform facial reconstructions. Take a look at the models by clicking here.
A number of other stories in the field of 3D printing have further demonstrated its wide range of potential applications in medicine such as the following:
- Researchers from Austria have initiated a new research project to create lifelike 3D-printed organs using biomaterials.
- A separate group from Austria has discovered a way to make an artificial placental barrier using high-resolution 3D printing.
- To help blind parents track the growth of their unborn child, clinicians from Argentina provided the parents with 3D-printed models of a fetus' face based on ultrasound scans.
For more related stories and news in the Advanced Visualization Community, head over to AuntMinnieEurope.com. Feel free to contact me with any suggestions for topics you'd like to see covered in the future.
