Improved depth perception with three-dimensional auxiliary display and computer generated three-dimensional panoramic overviews in robot-assisted laparoscopy

Abstract

Abstract.In comparison to open surgery, endoscopic surgery offers impaired depth perception and narrower field-of-view. To improve depth perception, the Da Vinci robot offers three-dimensional (3-D) video on the console for the surgeon but not for assistants, although both must collaborate. We improved the shared perception of the whole surgical team by connecting live 3-D monitors to all three available Da Vinci generations, probed user experience after two years by questionnaire, and compared time measurements of a predefined complex interaction task performed with a 3-D monitor versus two-dimensional. Additionally, we investigated whether the complex mental task of reconstructing a 3-D overview from an endoscopic video can be performed by a computer and shared among users. During the study, 925 robot-assisted laparoscopic procedures were performed in three hospitals, including prostatectomies, cystectomies, and nephrectomies. Thirty-one users participated in our questionnaire. Eighty-four percent preferred 3-D monitors and 100% reported spatial-perception improvement. All participating urologists indicated quicker performance of tasks requiring delicate collaboration (e.g., clip placement) when assistants used 3-D monitors. Eighteen users participated in a timing experiment during a delicate cooperation task in vitro. Teamwork was significantly (40%) faster with the 3-D monitor. Computer-generated 3-D reconstructions from recordings offered very wide interactive panoramas with educational value, although the present embodiment is vulnerable to movement artifacts.

Accurate three-dimensional virtual reconstruction of surgical field using calibrated trajectories of an image-guided medical robot

“…Surgeons and their assistants must redraw a mental 3-D mosaic of the surgical field as they move the endoscope within the larger surgical field. 33 Thus, 3-D panorama reconstruction software of the surgical field is demanded, which can also facilitate the autonomous surgery robot to better control the process of image-guided tasks, such as tumor margin removal. 34 …”

Augmented Reality for Assistance of Total Knee Replacement

“…Assisted computer surgery has improved the accuracy of many types of medical procedures, such as laparoscopy where the surgeon manipulates robotic arms performing minimally invasive surgery, using machine vision algorithms to obtain relevant data of the operation area during surgery [1,2].…”

Content-based processing and analysis of endoscopic images and videos: A survey

“…Viewport enhancement A further possible application of AR is to improve the viewing conditions of the surgeon. This can be done by expanding the restricted viewport and visualizing the surrounding area using image stitching methods [19,153,241], potentially even in 3D [265]. Similar techniques have also been investigated for the purpose of video summarization, e.g., to obtain a condensed representation of an examination for a medical record (see Section 4.2.4).…”