Pancreatic cancer surgery gets 3D imaging

Scientists at the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) have developed software that can generate three-dimensional models of the pancreas from scan in order to help surgeons plan operations.

The system, which has been tested on patients by surgeons at the University Surgical Hospital in Heidelberg, takes two-dimensional CT and MRT scans and creates an image of the organ, along with the tumour, that can be viewed from any angle.

Professor Markus W Büchler, medical director of the University Surgical Hospital in Heidelberg, said: "The more information one gets about a tumour, the better are the chances of successful surgery." The program has been used by Professor Büchler and many of his colleagues for sometime for planning and carrying out surgery.

The software, which was developed by the Division of Medical and Biological Informatics at the centre, can used to find out the exact spatial relationships between the tumour and the tissue. This is necessary because vital blood vessels pass close to the pancreas.

The image generated by the software can also be made available during the surgical procedure to help the clinicians. The system is also useful to radiologists, who can use the models to make more precise diagnoses.

According to DKFZ, the system will help surgeons remove tumours from patients in a safer fashion. The development is part of wider research by the centre into methods of treating cancer with less risk.

The system is similar to three-dimensional cardiac modelling software developed last year in Finland that also takes MRI scans and interprets them.

The DKFZ’s research is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and by the State of Baden-Württemberg.

Links

German Cancer Research Centre

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