Journal of Medical Imaging | SPIE

Minimally invasive percutaneous procedures are increasingly indicated and used in modern medicine. For example, percutaneous biopsies and thermal ablations are common in the growing field of image-guided interventional oncology.^1,2 These procedures have been increasingly used to diagnose and treat hepatic, renal, and other soft tissue tumors, especially in patients not eligible for surgical resection.^3–6 One drawback is that images used for guidance in these minimally invasive methods are displayed on fixed two-dimensional (2D) monitors, and some, including computed tomography (CT), expose the patient to radiation.⁷ Furthermore, targets for percutaneous procedures are often in sensitive or difficult-to-access locations and current image guidance is often not ideal due to issues with two-dimensionality.

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