Elasticity-Guided Neurosurgery: Biomechanical Integration in Tumor Resection

Tumor stiffness and adhesion are crucial factors in neurosurgery, yet they’re absent from standard planning and navigation. Advancements in biomechanics allow measuring and mapping these properties across modalities: magnetic resonance elastography for preoperative stiffness and adhesion, intraoperative ultrasound elastography for real-time updates, and rheometry as biological ground truth. Emerging frameworks integrate these measurements with AI and multimodal neuroimaging to produce probabilistic maps of tumor consistency and brain–tumor interface quality. Elasticity-guided neurosurgery incorporates biomechanical parameters into surgical decision-making to improve safety, efficiency, and personalization. By transforming tactile impressions into actionable data, it represents a shift toward more information-driven neurosurgical oncology