Study on Brain phantom and Markers in Surgical Training

Hydrocephalus is a disease that usually occurs in older adults. It is a condition that there is too much cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. The increase of brain pressure may cause patient faint or to death. VP-shunt is the common surgical way that treats hydrocephalus. It uses external ventricular drain to make excessive cerebrospinal fluid absorb by peritoneal. However, the accuracy of this surgery could be improved because most surgeons performed free hand, relying on the landmark of the patient face. Without image-guide surgery system’s assistance some conditions may occur, including mal-position, repeated insertions or infection. Recently, image-guide surgery is generally used in neurosurgical procedures. Before performing surgery, surgeons use CT scans to check the target. With the help of the navigation system, the occurrence of surgical error will decrease. Meanwhile, residents should be proficient in their training, so some researcher developed a simulator allows the surgeons to get a feel for texture of brain. Therefore, this research focuses on the development of the brain phantom for surgical training. The phantom includes skull, brain tissue and ventricles. The 3D-printed skull has been firstly drilled hole where surgeons usually puncture. Meanwhile, we took gellan gum, gelatin, and jelly t powder, mixing with different concentrations to make mimic brain phantom. Finally, we measure its hardness, density, to confirm which brain phantom is most similar with human brain. Developing a convenient way to conducting registration for navigation system is also an important issue. Because using a marker that can be repeated wear will make patient more comfortable during surgery. Patients don’t need to wear the marker while waiting between after taking a CT scan before having a surgery. So we also study for the ear’s marker and mask marker which can both maintain repeatability and accuracy.