FAIRFAX, Va. (June 15, 2020) -- Data from one of the first clinical uses of augmented reality guidance with electromagnetically tracked tools shows that the technology may help doctors quickly, safely, and accurately deliver targeted liver cancer treatments, according to a research abstract presented during a virtual session of the Society of Interventional Radiology's 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting on June 14. The technology provides a three-dimensional holographic view inside a patient's body, allowing interventional radiologists to accurately burn away tumors while navigating to avoid organs and other critical structures.

"Converting traditional two-dimensional imaging into three-dimensional holograms which we can then utilize for guidance using augmented reality helps us to better view a patient's internal structures as we navigate our way to the point of treatment," said Gaurav Gadodia, MD, lead author of the study and radiology resident at Cleveland Clinic. "While conventional imaging like ultrasound and CT is safe, effective, and remains the gold-standard of care, augmented reality potentially improves the visualization of the tumor and surrounding structures, increasing the speed of localization and improving the treating-physician's confidence."

In this initial in-human pilot study, the technology was used to deliver a treatment known as percutaneous thermal ablation of solid liver tumors. To apply this technology, the physicians use multi-phase CT to record coordinate markers placed on a patient's body. This imaging data is added to a software application that allows for segmentation of the tumor and nearby structures within the marked coordinate space. This information is fed into a proprietary augmented reality application, which utilizes Microsoft's HoloLens technology, a virtual reality headset with transparent lenses, to project a segmented hologram of the patient's imaged anatomy directly onto the patient. The hologram is registered to the coordinate markers to ensure accurate location of the relevant anatomy.
Utilizing electromagnetic tracking, instruments including the ablation probe can also be visualized in the augmented reality space during the procedure, thus allowing for true holographic intraprocedural guidance. Interventional radiologists can then use the combination of the holographic images of the patient's anatomy and tracked tools to find the tumor in the patient's liver quickly, check for optimal targeting of the tumor by the ablation probe, and avoid key structures.

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