Building Custom Image-Guided and Robotic Surgery Systems with 3D Slicer

This one-day course provides a practical, hands-on introduction to building custom image-guided and robotic surgery systems using 3D Slicer, with a focus on Kitware’s proven workflows for research-to-commercial translation. Participants will explore the full surgical pipeline from preoperative planning and intraoperative navigation to postoperative assessment while gaining experience with core SlicerIGT modules, the PLUS Toolkit, and live tracking integration. The course also covers strategies for rebranding, simplifying, and deploying Slicer-based platforms for commercial use, including licensing, compliance, and UI customization. Through guided exercises and real-world examples attendees will learn how to design, adapt, and extend surgical workflows while applying best practices in software engineering, stakeholder collaboration, and regulatory readiness.

This course is designed for medical technology companies, clinical researchers, software developers, and innovation leaders seeking to develop or customize image-guided surgical systems.

Objectives

• Understand the architecture and capabilities of 3D Slicer for surgical applications.
• Learn how to implement pre-, intra-, and post-operative components for image-guided surgery.
• Discover how to rebrand and restructure Slicer-based systems for commercial use.
• Practice customizing workflows for specific domains (neuro, ortho, cardiac).
• Apply Kitware's best practices in R&D software development for medical applications.

Prerequisites

• Experience using 3D Slicer
• Familiarity with medical image visualization and analysis

Agenda

This course involves approximately 8 hours of instruction. For onsite courses, we recommend either one 8-hour day of instruction (morning and afternoon sessions with a lunch break) or two 4-hour sessions on consecutive days. When taught as an online course, we can accommodate a variety of schedules including 2-hour sessions on four consecutive days or 1-hour sessions weekly for eight weeks.

Introduction to Kitware’s Role in Surgical Innovation

• Overview of commercial collaborations and custom development work
• Examples: neuro-navigation, cardiac, orthopedic systems

Architecture of Image-Guided and Robotic Surgery Systems

• Preoperative planning
• Intraoperative workflow (tracking, registration, coordinate systems)
• Postoperative assessment

Using 3D Slicer for Image-Guided Surgery

• Core modules and extensions (SlicerIGT, PLUS Toolkit)
• Scene management, visualization, segmentation

Hands-On Exercise: Neuro-Navigation Planning

• Load imaging data, define targets, segment anatomy

Intraoperative Workflow Implementation

• Real-time tracking and visualization
• Tool registration and alignment
• Coordinate system transformations

Hands-On Exercise: Live Tool Tracking and Navigation Feedback

• Connect with tracking device or simulated tracker
• Visualize tracked tool with anatomical overlay

Rebranding and Simplifying 3D Slicer for Commercial Deployment

• Custom splash screens, module sets, UI themes
• Packaging and deployment best practices
• Licensing and compliance considerations

Hands-On Exercise: Customize and Rebrand a Slicer Build

• Modify appearance, reduce module clutter, change application name

Best Practices for Workflow Integration and Deployment

• Modular software architecture
• Version control and testing strategies
• Collaborating with clinical stakeholders

Wrap-Up and Next Steps

• Discussion on extending the system for specific customer needs
• Recommendations for future development paths