Isocentric stereotactic three-dimensional digitizer for neurosurgery.

A new system has been developed, comprising a frameless isocentric stereotactic mechanism and a three-dimensional (3-D) digitizer for intraoperative spatial monitoring. The 3-D digitizer's multiarticulated arm has three joints related to Cartesian coordinates, two quadrant arcs forming an isocenter system, a microdrive, and a probe holder. The frameless isocentric mechanism is useful for open stereotaxy. Routine CT- or MRI-guided stereotactic surgery is also possible, due to the high level of accuracy of the system. Before surgery, CT and/or MR images are acquired after placing on the scalp three or four external markers. For surgical procedures which require high accuracy, Laitinen's noninvasive CT or MRI localizing markers are used. CT or MR images are entered into a computer using an image scanner, and are stored on a floppy disk. After the patient's head is fixed to the operating table using a Mayfield clamp, the 3-D digitizer is used to read the spatial points and external markers on the scalp or the reference points of Laitinen's localizing markers. During the procedure, the coordinates on the patient's head are automatically entered into the computer and matched with those of the 3-D digitizer and CT/MR images on the CRT display. This system has been used in 22 cases of open craniotomy and 33 cases of burr hole surgery, both carried out using the stereotactic function and the 3-D spatial monitoring function in parallel. Errors in mechanical accuracy of the 3-D digitizer were less than 0.8 mm, and the maximum error during operation was presumed not to exceed 2 mm.