Computer Vision News - June 2018

31 Marta Kersten-Oertel Women in Science Computer Vision News entered an operating room? I loved it! Really? The blood and everything? It didn’t bother me at all. I found it fascinating. For me, it continues to be fascinating. There’s someone working inside the brain! The majority of the time - well not always the majority - the patient will wake up without any deficits. They’re working in the brain! For me, it’s more of a fascinating thing. I love going into the OR and watching how the surgeons work and what they are doing. Why didn’t you become a surgeon? [ laughs ] That’s a good question! The thought occurred to me when I was finishing my PhD. My PhD took quite a long time. I was like, “ Oh, maybe I want to go to med school. ” My husband said, “ Maybe it’s just a crisis, and that’s not necessary. ” [ laughs ] Of course, he said, “ If that’s really what you want to do… ”. I came from a family of academics. Becoming a medical doctor never crossed my mind until I was in surgery. If I was to do things again, maybe it’s something I would have considered. Instead, now, I try to work as closely with them as I can to help. Never say never! [ both laugh ] What about the discipline in the operating room, is that fascinating too? The fact that everyone has a defined role? Yes, whenever we go into the OR, I feel that the surgeons are doing us a favor. I’ll be honest. I feel like they’re there to help support our research. Sometimes it is important to them, but it really depends on the surgeon. Other times, they’re really helping us in trying to see how our technology works. Everyone has their role. Some of us going into the lab always feel very comfortable saying, “ Can you use this now? Give us feedback! ” I was more timid, like “ Would you mind using our technology? ” [ laughs ] I felt like I had a particular role, but I think that’s very personal as well. Is there anything that you have developed which is already in use? I started my PhD a long time ago. Well, it feels like a long time ago. We started working in augmented reality for neurosurgery. It has become used now in commercial products: Brainlab is using it, for example, in their neurosurgical microscopes. Other commercial products are also using it as well. I’ve always wanted to provide evidence to say: “ Hey, is this useful or not useful? ” I never worked commercially on it, but I hope that, as we provide more evidence, the commercial companies that are working on these things will realize that “ Hey, this is actually a useful tool, and it should be incorporated into our technology! ” In the operating room: augmented reality view (yellow and blue anatomical data are overlaid on the dura of the patient).