Holographic Visualization for Performance of Percutaneous Ablation of Solid Liver Tumors: Translating from Bench to First-in-Human Evaluation

Percutaneous thermal ablation (PTA) of solid tumors is the leading, minimally-invasive treatment used in Interventional Oncology, especially in the liver. However, surgeons currently use 2D screens with image guidance for an inherently 3D task, which can lead to inaccurate ablation probe placement, tumor recurrence, and procedural complications. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate true 3D-holographic guidance for PTA (3D-HPA) from bench to first-in-human clinical evaluation for liver tumors, leading to increased ablation accuracy and usability. 3D-HPA functions by projecting holograms of the patient’s anatomy and GPS-tracked probes directly onto the operative site with HoloLens (an untethered, head-mounted AR display) to overcome limitations of 2D screens. Probe placement accuracy and HoloLens’s ease of use were assessed on the bench. Next, feasibility was assessed in a clinical study while maintaining standard of care. HoloLens image captures were reviewed from the first-in-human evaluation. Preliminary results show significant potential to improve PTA accuracy.