A real-time artifact reduction algorithm based on precise threshold during short-separation optical probe insertion in neurosurgery

During neurosurgery, an optical probe has been used to guide the micro-electrode, which is punctured into the globus pallidus (GP) to create a lesion that can relieve the cardinal symptoms. Accurate target localization is the key factor to affect the treatment. However, considering the scattering nature of the tissue, the "look ahead distance (LAD)" of optical probe makes the boundary between the different tissues blurred and difficult to be distinguished, which is defined as artifact. Thus, it is highly desirable to reduce the artifact caused by LAD. In this paper, a real-time algorithm based on precise threshold was proposed to eliminate the artifact. The value of the threshold was determined by the maximum error of the measurement system during the calibration procession automatically. Then, the measured data was processed sequentially only based on the threshold and the former data. Moreover, 100 mu m double-fiber probe and two-layer and multi-layer phantom models were utilized to validate the precision of the algorithm. The error of the algorithm is one puncture step, which was proved in the theory and experiment. It was concluded that the present method could reduce the artifact caused by LAD and make the real boundary sharper and less blurred in real-time. It might be potentially used for the neurosurgery navigation.