Hypothesis
We hypothesize that VR will be highly effective for surgical planning and enhance performance of endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms.
Specific Objective(s)
To implement a VR platform for the planning of complex endovascular procedures for the treatment of IA. To establish VR as a reliable tool for endovascular management of IA. To evaluate the impact of this advanced technique on surgical and clinical outcomes.
Brief Methods
We propose a prospective randomized study comparing the endovascular treatment planning of intracranial aneurysms based on a VR platform and conventional imaging modalities.
We will enroll patients selected for endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms who will have their neuroimages available on a VR platform for surgical training and planning. A pre- and post-procedure survey will be applied to evaluate VR performance. The surgical outcome will be evaluated based on the degree of aneurysm occlusion after treatment. The clinical outcome will be evaluated using a 90-day modified ranking score.
Student skills required
The student should have a well-rounded knowledge of neurovascular anatomy, basic knowledge in the field of radiology and statistical analysis. Previous work with segmentation/virtual reality would be considered an asset.
Potential skills developed
Comprehend the role of radiology in the evaluation of intracranial aneurysms. The student will have an opportunity to refine anatomical knowledge, comprehend the indications for aneurism treatments, and get exposure to virtual reality technology. The student will have direct supervision from the PI and would be involved in the application of innovative technology in the field of endovascular surgery. The student will also learn basic segmentation of radiological images. The work will be divided between remote work and in-person at the VR lab.
Timeline
3 months
Benefit to researcher/professor
To provide teaching/mentorship opportunities to those who are interested in a career in radiology. To collaborate with diverse expertise to develop innovative and high-impacting research.
Matching funding
Y/N. 2K investigator 2K DOR
References:
- Thompson, B. G. et al. Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke. 46, 2368–2400 (2015).
- Pierot, L., Cognard, C., Ricolfi, F. & Anxionnat, R. Immediate anatomic results after the endovascular treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms: Analysis in the CLARITY series. Am. J. Neuroradiol. 31, 907–911 (2010).
- Jiang, B., Paff, M., Colby, G. P., Coon, A. L. & Lin, L. M. Cerebral aneurysm treatment: Modern neurovascular techniques. Stroke and Vascular Neurology vol. 1 93–100 (2016).
- Rudarakanchana, N., Herzeele, I. Van, Desender, L. & Cheshire, N. J. Virtual reality simulation for the optimization of endovascular procedures: current perspectives. Vasc. Health Risk Manag. 11, 195 (2015).
- Timonen, T. et al. Virtual reality improves the accuracy of simulated preoperative planning in temporal bones: a feasibility and validation study. Eur. Arch. Oto-Rhino-Laryngology 278, 2795–2806 (2021).
- Mohammed, M. A. A., Khalaf, M. H., Kesselman, A., Wang, D. S. & Kothary, N. A Role for Virtual Reality in Planning Endovascular Procedures. J. Vasc. Interv. Radiol. 29, 971–974 (2018).
- Cheng, I. et al. An augmented reality framework for optimization of computer assisted navigation in endovascular surgery. Annu. Int. Conf. IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Soc. IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Soc. Annu. Int. Conf. 2014, 5647–5650 (2014).
- Awad, R. & Desai, M. Augmented and Mixed Reality Imaging in Endovascular Procedures: Futuristic but Will It Be Adopted by All? Eur. J. Vasc. Endovasc. Surg. 61, 851 (2021).
- Pereira, M. P. et al. Virtual Reality Preoperative Planning to Reduce Procedure Time of Microsurgical Clipping of MCA Aneurysm. Neurosurgery 67, E201–E203 (2021).