Experience with a computerized stereoscopic workstation for neurosurgical planning

The authors describe a PC AT-based workstation that allows stereotactic neurosurgery to be planned using stereoscopic digital subtraction angiography (DSA) projections in conjunction with computed tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance (MR) image data. Techniques for correlating the positions of targets and for performing measurements in images acquired from different modalities (i.e., CT, MR and DSA) are presented. The stereoscopic approach is discussed and compared with conventional methods of planning stereotactic neurosurgery. This method is found to be enlightening in terms of its ability to provide the observer with a 3D appreciation of the imaged structure. The ability to perform quantitative measurements, as well as view projection image data in 3D, is an attractive feature of the stereoscopic workstation and is considered crucial to planning many stereotactic procedures