On January 5, 2012, the IRCAD’s “Computer and Medical Imaging” team was congratulated by Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner in charge of the digital agenda, in Brussels. Indeed, the IRCAD (Research Institute Against Digestive Cancer) launched and put together the PASSPORT project (Patient-Specific Simulation and Pre-Operative Realistic Training) from June 2008 to December 2011, a project which aims to develop a “virtual liver” to help surgeons plan and carry out liver operations.
PASSPORT is a revolution in the management of patients suffering from liver tumors, as it allows for a more personalized and targeted treatment. According to Professor Jacques Marescaux, President of the IRCAD, “it represents a major step forward in the field of minimally invasive surgery, which is a field of research that has been privileged by our Institute ever since its creation”.
Professor Luc Soler, head of IRCAD’s Computer Research and Development Department, takes pride in this successful project: “This virtual liver gives surgeons the possibility to have a detailed preoperative analysis of the tumor’s location, for optimal simulation and planning of the surgical procedure. This tool was inspired by progress made in flight simulation technology”.