Surgical navigation or image guided surgery

Image-guided surgery, sometimes referred to as neuronavigation, refers to the use of a real-time correlation of the operative field to a preoperative imaging data set that reflects the precise location of a selected surgical instrument to the surrounding anatomic structures.  The use of this “GPS” for brain surgery allows the neurosurgeon to improve accuracy, and on occasion, limit the size of the craniotomy and extent of the surgery. Sometimes navigation is used to assist the placement of shunts to ensure utmost accuracy.