Computation of intra-operative brain shift using dynamic relaxation

Many researchers have proposed the use of biomechanical models for high accuracy soft organ non-rigid image registration, but one main problem in using comprehensive models is the long computation time required to obtain the solution. In this paper, we propose to use the Total Lagraingian formulation of the Finite Element method together with Dynamic Relaxation for computing intra-operative organ deformations. We study the best ways of estimating the parameters involved and we propose a termination criteria that can be used in order to obtain fast results with prescribed accuracy. The simulation results prove the accuracy and computational efficiency of the method, even in cases involving large deformations, nonlinear materials and contacts. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.