Pre-Sacral Access Visualization

 

Background/Problem

CREST was approached to help visualize the pre-sacral access procedure used in the Trans1 AxiaLIF operation. Here, the lumbar spine is accessed through a percutaneous opening adjacent to the sacral bone. The sacrum and target vertebrae are drilled through allowing the AxiaLIF and screws to be installed.

Approach/Results

To construct the bones, organs and soft tissues encountered in this procedure, we accessed real patient CT and MRI data. Using our method of 3D reproduction, we turned the DICOM data into 3D models that we would be able to interact with. The final delivered product was a complete set of pelvic bones, lower vertebrae and discs, rectum, nerves, ligaments and pre-sacral fat, that a prospective patient would be able to view in 3 dimensions, allowing a better understanding of the upcoming procedure.

Team Members:

• Dr. Rob Sweet
• Dan Burke
• Dr. Yunhe Shen
• Dr. Nan Zhang
• Dr. Xiangmin Zhou

Project View

Converted CT Data

Vertebrae and Discs

Pre-Sacral Entry