Augmented Reality Feasibility for Non-invasive Preoperative Tracking in Breast Cancer Surgery

Breast cancer is diagnosed by imaging at a non-palpable stage in more than half of all cases. Surgical removal requires preoperative guidance. Generally, preoperative guidance is performed using a metal guide under local anaesthetic and radiological control. This type of guidance has several limitations. For the patient, it can be painful and traumatic. The procedure involves two departments: radiology and the operating theatre, which poses logistical constraints. What's more, between 10% and 40% of patients require repeat surgery for unhealthy margins, raising the question of the effectiveness of the tracking procedure. The investigators propose to develop a non-invasive intraoperative guidance system: Augmented Reality, which will provide a 3D vision with virtual transparency of the breast during surgery, thanks to real-time fusion of preoperative imaging with video from a camera located in the operating room. The process is illustrated below.

Illustration of the general principle of the augmented reality system for locating non-palpable breast lesions. The images above represent a preliminary test carried out on the computer outside the operating room. This is an initial research prototype which has not yet been validated and is not suitable for routine use.