Study plan

Teachers: Miguel A. González (coordinator), Jérôme Noailly, Albert Hernansanz


We will study the general architecture and implementation aspects of computer-assisted surgery, from planning and simulation to intraoperative navigation and surgical robotics. This includes:

  • Planning of pre-operative trajectories and structures
  • Registration of pre-operative and intra-operative images
  • Tracking of surgical instrumentation
  • Augmented reality
  • Biomechanical deformation models

The course is structured in three blocks:


1. Introduction and basic concepts (Miguel A. González, 5h)
Lectures will start by introducing the basic theory and existing technological choices for computer-assisted surgery. Then, we will analyse and discuss several real computer-assisted systems, also from the point of view of clinical applications.


2. Biomechanical modelling (Jérôme Noailly, 10h)
Theory and labs will focus on modelling tissue deformation in the context of surgery, and particularly for brain surgery.


3. Construction of a robotic surgery system (Albert Hernansanz, 10h)

These seminars provide an introduction to surgical robotics as a cornerstone for enabling safer, more precise, and minimally invasive surgical procedures. The sessions cover: a comprehensive review of different robotic platform configurations, human-robot interaction methodologies and physical and control architectures in medical robotics.

On a practical level, students will study the pre- and intra-operative workflow of stereotactic cranial surgery (neurosurgery), which serves as the core project of the laboratory. The practical work is divided into two main stages:

  • Pre-operative Phase: Students will perform tissue segmentation, 3D reconstruction, data computation of anatomical structures, surgical planning, and the design of Virtual Fixtures.

  • Intra-operative Simulation: Students will simulate the planned surgical intervention within a highly realistic Unity-Slicer mixed virtual environment.