3D Contour Shaping of Buried Objects in Soil

The basic question of this paper was, whether a detected anomaly found in the ground during an explosives disposal process is actually a non-detonated bomb or non-dangerous metallic scrap. Based on a borehole radar, an approach is to be presented in which first a 2-dimensional contour of the object is created with the aid of a spatial runtime evaluation. By repeating this step at different depths with subsequent graphic overlay, a 3D shape of the buried object is created. The method is first tested using a simulation model with inhomogeneous soil. In the second step the method will be applied and evaluated using a field measurement of a real object. The results shows that both 2D and 3D evaluations reflect the position and orientation of the object. Furthermore, the shape and the dimensions can be estimated, with the restriction that the 3D contour has distortions along the vertical axis. The aim of this work is to show an application of borehole radar, with which the identification of buried objects should be facilitated.

Virtual image navigation: a new method to control intraoperative bleeding in neuroendoscopic surgery

✓ In this neuroendoscopic study the authors tested the newly developed “red-out module” of their visual navigation system that enables the neurosurgeon to achieve hemostasis if total visualization is lost due to hemorrhage (“red out”) within the visual field. An optical position measurement system connected to the endoscope guarantees that digitized endoscopic images are coupled with the accurate endoscopic position. Computerized images are simultaneously stored with their respective position data, and this creates a virtual anatomical landscape. The system was tested in in vivo bleeding conditions in a rat model. Artificial endoscopic cavities were created in the inguinal, pelvic, and jugular regions in rats to imitate the conditions of the human ventricular system.Two experimental settings were tested: Technique I, in which a computer landmark has been previously determined at the point where the vessel will be lesioned; and Technique II, in which a landmark has been previously set in the surrounding area of the vessel. Immediately after hemorrhage obscures the visual field (red out), the computer automatically displays the virtual images on a separate monitor. The previously set landmarks and the graphic overlay of the coagulation fiber enable the surgeon to navigate within the operative field based on the virtual images and to perform coagulation at the site of the lesion. A total of 175 vessels were coagulated: 43 arteries and 132 veins. In using Technique I, 130 (90.9%) of 143 vessels and in using Technique II, 26 (81.2%) of 32 arteries were successfully coagulated. The authors' data revealed that virtual image guidance has the potential to be a helpful tool in neuroendoscopy.