In a collaboration between Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, investigators have received a $2.5 million grant to develop a head-mounted augmented reality system that can guide surgeons in ensuring complete tumor removal in head and neck cancer surgery and potentially reduce the recurrence rate of tumors.
The National Institutes of Health grant was awarded to primary investigator Jie Ying Wu, PhD, assistant professor of Computer Science, with secondary appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Wu also has an appointment in the Department of Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Co-investigators include Michael Miga, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering and the Harvie Branscomb Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, as well as Michael Topf, MD, associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and Matthew Weinger, MD, professor of Anesthesiology and Biomedical Informatics.
“I am delighted to receive this award to transform surgical care for head and neck cancer,” said Wu. “This funding will allow us to build novel deformation models for heterogeneous tissue shrinkage and ensure the augmented reality software design is intuitive for surgeons and fits within the clinical workflow.”