Real-Time Integration of Optical Coherence Tomography Thickness Map Overlays for Enhanced Visualization in Epiretinal Membrane Surgery: A Pilot Study

• Published in: Bioengineering (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 3; p. 271
• Main Authors: Turgut, Ferhat, Ueda, Keisuke, Saad, Amr, Spitznagel, Tahm, von Felten, Luca, Matsumoto, Takashi, Santos, Rui, de Smet, Marc D., Nagy, Zoltán Zsolt, Becker, Matthias D., Somfai, Gábor Márk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 10.03.2025; MDPI
• Subjects: Algorithms; Artificial intelligence; Care and treatment; Decision making; Distributed processing; epiretinal membrane peeling; Eye; Feasibility studies; feature point alignment; Frames (data processing); Integration; intraoperative visualization; Medical imaging; Membranes; Methods; Optical Coherence Tomography; Optical flow (image analysis); Optical tomography; Pilot projects; Processing speed; Real time; real-time optical coherence tomography; Retina; Robotic surgery; Surgeons; Surgery; surgical image processing; Surgical outcomes; Time integration; Tomography; Visualization; vitreoretinal surgery; Switzerland; United States > US; Germany; vitreoretinal surgery; robot-assisted surgery; surgical image processing; surgical training; feature point alignment; intraoperative visualization; real-time optical coherence tomography; epiretinal membrane peeling
• ISSN: 2306-5354; 2306-5354
• DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering12030271

(1) Background: The process of epiretinal membrane peeling (MP) requires precise intraoperative visualization to achieve optimal surgical outcomes. This study investigates the integration of preoperative Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) images into real-time surgical video feeds, providing a dynamic overlay that enhances the decision-making process during surgery. (2) Methods: Five MP surgeries were analyzed, where preoperative OCT images were first manually aligned with the initial frame of the surgical video by selecting five pairs of corresponding points. A homography transformation was then computed to overlay the OCT onto that first frame. Subsequently, for consecutive frames, feature point extraction (the Shi–Tomasi method) and optical flow computation (the Lucas–Kanade algorithm) were used to calculate frame-by-frame transformations, which were applied to the OCT image to maintain alignment in near real time. (3) Results: The method achieved a 92.7% success rate in optical flow detection and maintained an average processing speed of 7.56 frames per second (FPS), demonstrating the feasibility of near real-time application. (4) Conclusions: The developed approach facilitates enhanced intraoperative visualization, providing surgeons with easier retinal structure identification which results in more comprehensive data-driven decisions. By improving surgical precision while potentially reducing complications, this technique benefits both surgeons and patients. Furthermore, the integration of OCT overlays holds promise for advancing robot-assisted surgery and surgical training protocols. This pilot study establishes the feasibility of real-time OCT integration in MP and opens avenues for broader applications in vitreoretinal procedures.