ABSTRACT
Computer-aided surgery has become an integral part of modern surgical practice and training in all surgical specialties including neurosurgery, otorhinolaryngology, maxillo-facial, general and orthopaedic surgery. A computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan produces a stack of digital images to create a three-dimensional (3D) volume. The 3D volume of data as well as virtual surgical tools can be aligned (registered) with the patient's real world coordinates such that the surgeon would be able to navigate surgical tools and these be displayed on a computer screen to indicate their position in relationship to patient anatomy. Image-guided surgery (IGS) offers most promise in the areas of skull base and endoscopic sinus surgery. Skull base surgeons have found this technology particularly useful for pre-operative surgical planning, design of bone flaps, identification of important structures and for finding small tumours in obscure parts. This takes on additional importance when normal anatomy is distorted by disease or anatomical variations.
