Virtual operations on real patients]

The tremendous amount of available medical digital data requires media for intuitive information perception. Virtual reality (VR) presents a technique for processing the visual data from various diagnostic modalities. From a synthetic patient model, the required compact information can be generated. The patient model is the basis for planning and processing of surgical procedures. Stereoscopically visualized 3-D reconstructions of, for example, tomographic scans are used for virtual operations. Today, prototypical tools for the virtual training of certain surgical procedures are known. Possible VR applications in surgery range from the combination of virtual and real data (augmented reality) and intraoperative computer assistance (navigation) to remotely performed operations (telerobotics). In particular, the optimization of the man-machine interface to integrate VR applications in operating theaters is required.