Training and Evaluation System for Image-Guided Therapy - Perk Station

Image-guided percutaneous needle-based surgery has become part of routine clinical practice in performing procedures such as biopsies and injections. Image-guided needle placement procedures in CT/MR benefit from an accurate and effective augmented reality (AR) system. In order to operate the system the user has to be trained. Therefore, we have developed a laboratory validation and training system for measuring operator performance under different assistance techniques for needle-based surgical guidance systems named "The Perk Station." Three techniques are fitted in this training suite: the image overlay, bi-plane laser guide, and traditional freehand techniques. An electromagnetic tracking system is applied in the validation system. The Perk Station, an inexpensive, simple and easily reproducible surgical navigation workstation for laboratory practice incorporating all the above mentioned functions in a "self-contained" unit, is introduced.

Perk Station
Perk Station

Please see the Queen's University Perk Lab website for more information.

Related Publications

  1. Vikal S, U-Thainual P, Carrino JA, Fischer GS, Iordachita I, Fichtinger G, Perk Station - Percutaneous Surgery Training and Performance Measurement Platform, Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics, Vol 34, No 1, pp 19-32, Jan. 2010.ScienceDirect, PubMed
  2. U-Thainual P, Fischer GS, Iordachita I, Vikal S, Fichtinger G, The PerkStation: Systems Design for Percutaneous Intervention Training Suite, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics - ROBIO 2008, Bangkok, Thailand, pp 1693 - 1697, February 2009. IEEE
  3. Fischer GS, Iordachita I, U-Thainual P, Carrino JA, Fichtinger G, A Training Suite for Image Overlay and Other Needle Insertion Techniques, Augmented environments for Medical Imaging including Augmented Reality in Computer-aided Surgery Workshop at MICCAI - AMI-ARCS 2008, September 2008. PDF