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About

Kathrin Tingelhoff’s research lies at the critical intersection of medical imaging, surgical robotics, and otolaryngology, with a focus on improving Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS). Her most influential work tackles the challenge of accurately segmenting the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses from CT images—a foundational step for diagnosis, surgical planning, and robotic assistance. In her landmark 2008 study, “CT-based manual segmentation and evaluation of paranasal sinuses,” which has garnered 107 citations, she established a rigorous manual segmentation protocol. She then advanced the field by directly comparing manual and semi-automatic methods in a 2007 paper (69 citations), providing essential benchmarks for automating this complex anatomical task. Beyond segmentation, Tingelhoff pioneered the measurement of intraoperative forces and tissue elasticity for robot-assisted FESS, as demonstrated in her ex vivo study (15 citations). She also explored 3D endoscopic visualization to enhance the minimally invasive approach for chronic sinusitis. Her work on sensor-based force measurement at the endoscope (8 citations) further contributes to safer, more precise surgical tools. Through these contributions, Tingelhoff has provided foundational data and methods that continue to guide the development of computer-aided and robotic systems in sinus surgery.