Digital and intelligent liver surgery in the new era: Prospects and dilemmas

EBioMedicine. 2019 Mar:41:693-701. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.02.017. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Abstract

Despite tremendous advances in traditional imaging technology over the past few decades, the intraoperative identification of lesions is still based on naked eye observation or pre-operative image evaluation. However, these two-dimensional image data cannot objectively reflect the complex anatomical structure of the liver and the detailed morphological features of the lesion, which directly limits the clinical application value of these imaging data in surgery in that it cannot improve the curative efficacy of surgery and the prognosis of the patient. This traditional mode of diagnosis and treatment has been changed by digital medical imaging technology in the new era with its significant function of accurate and efficient diagnosis of diseases, selection of reasonable treatment schemes, improvement of radical resection rate and reduction of surgical risk. In this paper, we reviewed the latest application of digital intelligent diagnosis and treatment technology related to liver surgery in the hope that it may help to achieve accurate treatment of liver surgery diseases.

Keywords: 3D printing; 3D visualization; Digital medicine; Liver surgery; Virtual reality.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Contrast Media / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Indocyanine Green / chemistry
  • Liver Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Liver Diseases / diagnostic imaging
  • Liver Diseases / surgery
  • Surgery, Computer-Assisted*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Contrast Media
  • Indocyanine Green