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The Biomedical Imaging Resource at the Mayo Clinic has been involved in the design and implementation of computer-based techniques for comprehensive and fully-interactive display and analysis of biomedical images since the 1970s. The algorithms and programs Mayo Clinic has developed have been integrated into a software system called Analyze. This system has been used in the planning and rehearsal of numerous operations, including some special surgeries, such as the separation of joined twins. More than 10 years' experience using computers to plan operations has led Mayo Clinic to design the Virtual Reality Assisted Surgery Program (VRASP) for eventual use during craniofacial, orthopedic, prostate and neurological surgery. VRASP lets surgeons view 3D renderings of CT and MRI data and permits interactive virtual display manipulation. In essence, as doctors use interactive technology and computer-generated 3D images of patients' bodies to plan and rehearse surgery, so the program brings pre-surgery planning and rehearsal into line with what happens on the operating table, to make the surgical procedure more effective, less risky and less expensive.
Robb et al. (Mon,) studied this question.