Web-based 'computer assisted surgical anatomy mapping'

In surgery one of the major problems is a safe approach of the operation site. For surgeons it is paramount to know the location of surgically relevant nerves and vessels. Especially in surgery of the lateral (outside) foot, the anatomy is not always completely clear since the location of nerves and vessels is highly variable. Therefore CASAM is developed by students in Delft and Rotterdam (Netherlands). This web-application is based on the Django-framework and is a useful tool for three usergroups: 1) Researchers: After photographing dissected specimen a Thin Plate Spline transformation is used to compute an average foot and the pictures of individual specimen are warped to match this reference, average-foot. Renditions can be made to depict relevant surgical anatomy. Finally the researchers can define a zone in the lateral foot in which it is safe to approach the operation site. 2) Surgeons: Relevant anatomy (gathered by the researcher) can be warped over the picture of the patient. This pre-operative planning using CASAM assists the surgeon in determining a 'tailor made' safe-zone for each patient. 3) Students: For educational purposes, a drawn incision line can be compared to the computed location of nerves and vessels, thus providing personal feedback.