Abstract
The present study developed a user-centered 3D virtual liver surgery planning system called Dr. Liver™ to assist surgeons in preoperative planning of liver surgeries such as living donor liver transplantation and tumor resection. Use scenarios of Dr. Liver were developed through literature review, benchmarking, and interviews with surgeons. The major functions of Dr. Liver include (1) 3D reconstruction of the liver, vessels, and tumors from abdominal CT images, (2) virtual resection simulation for liver surgery planning, and (3) volumetric measurement of the liver, vessels, tumors, remnant, and/or graft. Novel image processing algorithms were developed and implemented into Dr. Liver for accurate and efficient liver surgery planning. Various user-friendly features such as a hierarchical interface were integrated into Dr. Liver for better usability. The usability of Dr. Liver was systematically evaluated with eight medical doctors from three different medical centers using various performance and preference measures. Dr. Liver received a high score of user satisfaction (6.1 ± 0.2) as measured using a 7-point Likert scale. Dr. Liver will be used in preoperative liver surgery planning for safe and rational liver surgery.