Andrea Carai: Our data suggest that VR is overall useful for pediatric neurosurgical oncology
Andrea Carai, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“VIRTUAL REALITY: A NEUROSURGEON’S PERSPECTIVE
Part 5 – Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù Data
Virtual reality has been used on over 350 pediatric brain tumor procedures at my institution.
Formally assessing the usefulness of this technology is a complicated task for many different reasons, the most prominent being the heterogeneity of surgical scenarios and the large number of non-technical variables contributing to a successful surgery.
Our data suggest that VR is overall useful for pediatric neurosurgical oncology.
Specific conditions demonstrated significant advantage of VR in surgical planning and assistance to tumor resection:
– Age younger than 10 years (< 10 yo).
– Deep supratentorial tumor resection.
– Glioma histology.
– Planned incomplete resection of tumor.
They all represent a challenge for the neuro surgeon in maintaining the orientation in the surgical field for the paucity of anatomical landmarks to refer to during resection.
Having familiarized with the spatial scenario that will be encountered during surgery might significantly increase the surgeon’s confidence.
Video Shows a deep supratentorial tumor flight, a simulated infratentorial supracerebellar approach to a postero-medial thalamic tumor.”
Authors: Roberto Premuselli, Carmen D’Amore, Matteo Barba, Alessandra Marasi, Giada Del Baldo, Alessandro DE Benedictis, Eleonora Piccirilli , Giovanna S Colafati, Angela Mastronuzzi, Carlo E Marras, amd Andrea Carai.
Source: Andrea Carai/LinkedIn