Simulation & High performance computing: The challenge of computer-assisted surgery

Luc SOLER
R&D Director of IRCAD, R&D Director of IHU Strasbourg

Cliquez ICI pour télécharger la présentation

Abstract : Computer-assisted surgery led to a major improvement in medicine. Such an improvement can be summarized in four major steps. The first one consists in an automated 3D modelling of patients from their medical images. The second one consists in using this modelling in surgical planning and real-time simulation software offering then the opportunity to train the surgical gesture before carrying it out. The third step consists in intraoperatively superimposing preoperative data onto the real view of patients. This Augmented Reality provides surgeons a view in transparency of their patient allowing to track instruments and to improve pathology targeting. The last one consists in robotizing the procedure by replacing human gesture by a robotic gesture that can be automated. This automation is based on real-time image analysis and visual servoing. These four different steps need high performance computing allowing to assume fast 3D modelling, real-time organ deformation and force feedback simulation, as well as accurate image fusion and analysis integrating organ and tool tracking and allowing for robot control. We will present here results and perspectives of such applications to computer-assisted surgery.

Biographie : Luc Soler was born on 6th October 1969. In 1999, he was valedictorian for the magister at the Higher Education Computer Science School of the Paris University. He obtained his PhD in Computer Sciences in 1998. Since 1999, he is a research project manager in computer sciences and robotics at the Research Institute against Digestive Cancer (IRCAD, Strasbourg). In October 2000, he joined the surgical team of Professor Marescaux as invited professor at the Medical Faculty of Strasbourg. His main areas of interest are medical image processing, 3D modelling, virtual and augmented reality, surgical robotics and abdominal anatomy. In 1999, his research work has been awarded with a Computer World Smithsonian Award, in 2003 with the first World Summit Award in the eHealth category, in 2004 with the «Best Vision Paper » of IEEE Robotics & automation society, in 2005 with the 2nd international award of the « Sensable Developper Challenge », in 2006 with the « Le monde de l’informatique » trophy in Health category and in 2008 and 2009 with the first prize of the Kitware Best biomedical Vizualisation award of MICCAI.