creating a drill trajectory

Support
1

Hi, I am trying to make a drill hole through a segmented CT scan. I was wondering if there was a way to make this in slicer and know the coordinates of the centre of the entry and exit points?

2

You can draw a trajectory line using Markups module. If you want to simulate drilling (drill a hole in the image) then you can use Segment Editor - Draw tube effect followed by Mask volume effect.

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3

Thanks Andras, where do I find the draw tube effect?

4

Draw Tube effect is provided by SegmentEditorExtraEffects extension. If you install this extension then the effect will show up in Segment Editor.

5

thanks Andras, I use the effect but it just makes a solid tube, do I need to form a new segmentation to remove this from?

Is there also a way to export my line as a coordinate system?

sorry for all the questions

6

What is your end goal? Do you want to display trajectory as surface mesh or using volume tendering, in slice views, 3D views, virtual reality, augmented reality, as volume rendering 3D print it, export it to rgb viewer or to commercial surgical navigation system, or do surgical navigation Slicer, explore what is around the trajectory,… all doable in Slicer.

Please describe the driving clinical application, too (pedicle screw, spinal injections, craniostomy for subdural hematoma, breast/liver/prostate tumour, valve replacement, etc) because we have lots of experience to share about planning and guiding specific procedures in Slicer.

7

My end goal is to use the trajectory for navigation in slicer and also to produce surgical guides with the same trajectory in blender software, although I would like to be able to do this in slicer if possible. This is for placing a screw in the elbow.

I need to see the trajectory within the slices so I can check it does not exit the bone for drilling the screw.

thanks for offering to help

8

I would recommend this workflow:

If you don’t want to use a 3D-printed guide then you can set up optical or electromagnetic tracking as described in SlicerIGT tutorials.

I would also recommend to consider using ultrasound for real-time imaging and guidance. See for example this demo: