Stereotactic operations are simulated on the computer screen the basis of CT and MRI images supported by high-performance computers and special IT programs. There are several MRI machines of varying field strengths (1.5 Tesla, 3 Tesla and 7 Tesla) available in Magdeburg for the optimum depiction of seats of disease in the brain, brain function and the anatomy of the brain. If necessary, images from nuclear medicine metabolic tests (positron emission tomography (PET) or single proton emitting computed tomography (SPECT)) can also be integrated.

The aims of three-dimensional surgical simulation on the screen are to calculate the target points to the millimeter, as well as the entry point through the bone to the inside of the skull and the route that a thin surgical instrument will take through the brain tissue. If brain tumors are also being treated with local radiation (brachytherapy) it will also be necessary to plan how to space out the radiation dose. We see this complex operation planning as an essential requirement for using the stereotactic method safely. Only in this way can we reduce as far as possible the risk of injury to blood vessels or functionally important areas of the brain and simultaneously improve as far as possible the accuracy of the stereotactic diagnosis or treatment.