Analysis and Visualization of Nerve Vessel Contacts for Neurovascular Decompression

Abstract. Neurovascular compression syndromes are caused by a pathological contact between cranial nerves and vascular structures at the surface of the brainstem. Aiming at improved pre-operative analysis of the target structures, we propose calculating distance fields to provide quantitative information of the important nerve-vessel contacts. Furthermore, we suggest reconstructing polygonal models for the nerves and vessels. Color-coding with the respective distance information is used for enhanced visualization. Overall, our new strategy contributes to a significantly improved clinical understanding.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: BILDMED
• Authors: Jochen Süßmuth, Alexander Piazza, Frank Enders, Ramin Naraghi, Günther Greiner, Peter Hastreiter
• Keywords: BILDMED 2007, BILDMED 2009, Cranial Nerves, Neurovascular Compression Syndromes, Respective Distance Information