  OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to introduce the principles of
computer-assisted access to the kidney. The system provides the surgeon with a
pre-operative 3D planning on computed tomography (CT) images. After a rigid
registration with space-localized ultrasound (US) data, preoperative planning
can be transferred to the intra-operative conditions and an intuitive
man-machine interface allows the user to perform a puncture. MATERIAL AND
METHODS: Both CT and US images of informed normal volunteer were obtained to
perform calculation on the accuracy of registration and punctures were carried
out on a kidney phantom to measure the precision of the whole of the system.
RESULTS: We carried out millimetric registrations on real data and guidance
experiments on a kidney phantom showed encouraging results of 4.7 mm between
planned and reached targets. We noticed that the most significant error was
related to the needle deflection during the puncture. CONCLUSION: Preliminary
results are encouraging. Further work will be undertaken to improve efficiency
and accuracy, and to take breathing into account.
