TABLE OF CONTENTS Russell Taylor
Department of Computer Science Center for Computer-
Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, The Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A.
Leo Joskowicz
School of Computer Science and Engineering Computer-Aided
Surgery and Medical Image Processing Laboratory, The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, Israel
The growing demand for complex and minimally invasive surgical interventions is driving the search for ways to use computer-based information technology as a link between the preoperative plan and the tools utilized by the surgeon. Computers, used in conjunction with advanced surgical assist devices, will fundamentally alter the way that procedures are carried out in twenty-first century operating rooms.
Computer-integrated surgery (CIS) systems make it possible to carry out surgical interventions that are more precise and less invasive than conventional procedures, while judiciously tracking and logging all relevant data. This data logging, coupled with appropriate tracking of patient outcomes, will make possible a totally new level of quantitative patient outcome assessment and treatment improvement analogous to total quality management in manufacturing.
The goals of CIS systems are to enhance the dexterity, visual feedback, and information integration of the surgeon. While medical equipment is currently available to assist the surgeons in specific tasks, it is the synergy between these capabilities that gives rise to a new paradigm. The goal is to complement and enhance surgeons skills and always leave them in control, never to replace them.
CIS systems are instances of an emerging paradigm of...
