Neural Navigation & Virtual-Reality

The human brain has 100 billion nerve cells, each with over 10,000 connections. Performing surgery inside the brain is therefore a delicate matter, and one needs to be incredibly precise when doing so. This includes the need to enter the brain through safe corridors, and navigate around a number of fibers that pass through the brain substance without damaging them. A virtual-reality system has now been designed that enables us to do just that. Using special MRI scans made before the surgery, we can register the patient’s head in three-dimensional space to the three-dimensional virtual-reality world of the computer. Then, by simply touching the area that we wish to operate in, we can see exactly where we are on a virtual-reality computer generated picture. This allows us to navigate precisely to and through areas of the brain that would previously be inaccessible with an accuracy of approximately 1 mm. The technique has revolutionized brain surgery, and enables us to operate safely in many areas that were previously not able to be reached.