Brussels, 05/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - Scientists and surgeons from France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland have, with the assistance of EU research funding, developed a “virtual liver”, which will help surgeons better plan and carry out tumour operations and ensure quicker patient recovery, the Commission announced on 5 January. The PASSPORT project (Patient-Specific Simulation and Pre-Operative Realistic Training) makes a uniquely accurate “virtual liver” available to physicians based on medical images sent by the radiologist to a PASSPORT online service, helping surgeons decide whether they should operate or not. Surgeons will now be able to see more precisely where the tumour is and where they will have to operate to safely remove it. European Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “The technology developed in the EU-funded PASSPORT project is a breakthrough that will improve diagnosis and surgery, and help to save lives”.
Under current practice, fewer than 50% of patients undergo surgery. Operations to deal with cancer and sclerosis of the liver are very delicate. Before operating, the surgeon has to know exactly where the tumour is located, the volume of the functional liver which would remain, and the patient's overall health in order accurately to assess the chances of success. PASSPORT's virtual liver could considerably increase the percentage of patients on whom operations are carried out. The next step will be to make the software commercially available. This will allow surgeons based anywhere in the world to use this model, adjust it to the needs of each patient and considerably lower the cost of each operation. The PASSPORT project, which began in June 2008, ended in December 2011. The total cost was €5,457,174 with €3,635,049 coming from EU funding. (IL/transl.rt)