Tele-consultation in MR-guided neurosurgery

MR-guided neurosurgery may offer greater accuracy in surgical localization and resection of brain tumors. Proper utilization of MRI for surgical guidance requires real-time consultation with a neuroradiologist during typically lengthy procedures. We sought to: build a system that allows fast and efficient tele-radiologic consultation in the MR-surgical suite. We modeled the imaging tasks and data flow for representative MR-guided neurosurgical procedures. Customized viewing modes, which associate specific data and tasks, were designed accordingly. We implemented "application sharing" in order to allow tele-consultation between the surgeon and a remotely located radiologist during a case. The system described here provides an effective and efficient method for expert tele-consultation during MR-guided neurosurgery.