Liver displacement during ventilation in Thiel embalmed human cadavers - a possible model for research and training in minimally invasive therapies

Roos Eisma, Mariana Gueorguieva, Erwin Immel, Rachel Toomey, Graeme McLeod, Roger Soames, Andreas Melzer

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    26 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Respiration-related movement of organs is a complication in a range of diagnostic and interventional procedures. The development and validation of techniques to compensate for such movement requires appropriate models. Human cadavers embalmed with the Thiel method remain flexible and could provide a suitable model. In this study liver displacement during ventilation was assessed in eight Thiel embalmed cadavers, all of which showed thoracic and abdominal motion. Four cadavers displayed realistic lung behaviour, one showed some signs of pneumothorax after prolonged ventilation, one had limited filling of the lungs, and two displayed significant leakage of air into the thorax. A coronal slice containing the largest section through the liver was imaged with a real-time Fast Gradient Echo (FGR) MRI sequence: Craniocaudal displacement of the liver was then determined from a time-series of slices. The maximum liver displacement observed in the cadavers ranged from 7 to 35 mm. The ventilation applied was comparable to tidal breathing at rest and the results found for liver displacement are similar to values in the literature for respiratory motion of the liver under similar conditions. This indicates that Thiel embalmed cadavers have potential as a model for research and training in minimally invasive procedures.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)291-296
    Number of pages6
    JournalMinimally Invasive Therapy and Allied Technologies
    Volume22
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Sept 2013

    Keywords

    • Cadaver model
    • respiration
    • liver displacement

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