Interactive 3D technology reveals hidden tumors during surgery

Tumors beneath the surface of the liver can be difficult to locate during laparoscopic, or keyhole, surgery. The new technology uses augmented reality to overlay a 3D visualization of the tumor and other anatomical structures on the surgeon’s camera view. The visualization is updated as the camera changes position.

“We have brought together the geometric tools needed to show where the tumor would be visible if the liver were semitransparent,” says Torbjörn Lundh, professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg.

“You can think of it as a GPS inside the organ. Instead of just having a map before surgery, we get continuous guidance based on the current camera angle,” says Niclas Kvarnström, transplant surgeon and head of the Transplant Centre at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and a researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.

In June 2026, the technology was used in surgery on a patient for the first time.

“The system could be used as planned during the operation, and the workflow worked well. The patient was able to go home the following day,” says Kvarnström.

A small marker points the way to the tumor

To use the technology, the surgeon places a special sticker on the surface of the liver. The sticker is approximately one square centimeter (0.16 square inches) in size and has a QR code. As long as the camera can see the marker, the system can show the tumor or other structures beneath the surface.

“The sticker acts as an artificial landmark on the surface of the liver, which is otherwise as smooth and even as a polished floor. Put very simply, the marker, together with the camera’s position and the X-ray image taken before surgery, helps us calculate where the tumor should appear. That information can then easily be overlaid on the camera view,” says Lundh.

Aiming to extend the technology to surgery on other organs

Further liver operations are planned for fall 2026. In parallel, work continues on clinical validation, product development, quality management systems and the steps required to obtain regulatory approval.

In the longer term, a larger international study is planned in collaboration with the Intervention Centre at Oslo University Hospital and hospitals in Washington.

Although the first clinical application has been in liver surgery, the researchers also see potential in other areas.

“Our next major step is to make the method more widely applicable to other laparoscopic procedures. This is a new project that we have just started together with Chalmers Next Labs,” says Lundh.

“This technology can be used in many routine procedures, for tumors in other organs or to keep track of a particular anatomical structure. We are starting with liver surgery, but in the longer term the technology could have much broader applications,” says Kvarnström.

Research that responds to health care needs

The collaboration behind the technology began 10 years ago, when surgeons Kvarnström and Mårten Falkenberg contacted mathematicians Lundh and Klas Modin.

“This is an excellent example of research rooted in a real need in the operating room. Together with our master’s thesis students, Klas and I have used and developed the mathematics needed to see where the tumor is hidden,” says Lundh.

He emphasizes the importance of collaboration across professional boundaries.

“We hope our collaboration shows that really good things can happen when doctors and mathematicians work together in interdisciplinary teams that focus on the problem rather than the scientific tools, and where team members have a high degree of trust in one another and curiosity about each other’s work,” says Lundh.

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Swati Mestri holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space.

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