ABSTRACT
Recent advances in image guided surgery are changing the manner in which surgeons are able to execute dif ficult procedures. By building detailed, patient-specific models of anatomy, and augmenting those models with other information, such as functional properties, the surgeon can better plan her procedure to optimally ex tract target tissue while avoiding nearby critical struc tures. By registering these models with the actual pa tient position in the operating theatre, and by track ing surgical instruments relative to the patient and the registered model, real-time feedback is provided about the position of the instrument and its relationship to nearby, hidden tissue.
