Measurement and Analysis of Brain Deformation during Neurosurgery

Recent studies have shown that the surface of the brain is deformed by up to 20mm after the skull is opened during neurosurgery, which could lead to substantial error in commercial image guided surgery systems. We quantitatively analyse the intraoperative brain deformation of 24 subjects to investigate whether simple rules can describe or predict the deformation. Interventional MR images acquired at the start and end of the procedure are registered non-rigidly to obtain deformation values throughout the brain. Deformation patterns are investigated quantitatively with respect to the location and magnitude of deformation, and to the distribution and principal direction of the displacements. We also measure the volume change of the lateral ventricles by manual segmentation. Our study indicates that brain..