Initial experience with an ultrasound-integrated single-RACK neuronavigation system.

A prototype ultrasound-integrated neuronavigation system was tested in 34 operations as regards image quality, stability, and handling during daily use in the operating theatre. The system consists of a high-end ultrasound scanner, a navigation computer, and an active optical positioning and digitiser system, all integrated in a single rack. An Ethernet interface between the two hardware devices enables digital data transfer between the ultrasound scanner and the navigation device without loss of image quality. The integration of an ultrasound scanner and a navigation device offers the opportunity of navigating directly to an intracranial or intraspinal lesion using intra-operative 3D ultrasound images. The brainshift problem is thus avoided. The ability to directly compare MR images and 3D ultrasound simplifies the interpretation of ultrasound images. The single-rack solution is an advantage in times of restricted space in the operating theatre caused by the increasing volume of technical equipment needed for a neurosurgical operation. In 30 cases the prototype system showed good reliability. In four cases the navigation system failed during the operation; however, the capacity of the ultrasound scanner was still available as a stand-alone function. With the single-rack concept, the flexibility of the system is high and the complete device can easily be moved from one operating theatre to another.