The tradeoffs between cost, accuracy, and information provided will be discussed. The problem of image segmentation will also be discussed here. This includes anatomic and physiological modeling as well as soft tissue modeling such as deformable models. The use of modeling in image-guided procedures is still in its infancy, and fundamental issues as to the creation, use, and validation of models remain. Surgical Instrumentation, Tooling, and Robotics.
Surgical instrumentation includes cages and other devices for fusing the spine.
Tooling includes the special purpose tools needed to access the spine through percutaneous or minimally invasive techniques. In the future, robotic systems may be used to assist in these procedures. These robotic systems may include passive, semi-active, and active systems. The role of this group is to define the systems architecture for the image-guided spine procedure systems of the future. This group will also discuss various technologies that are not covered by other groups including image-guided surgery systems.