Laser-scan endoscope system for intraoperative geometry acquisition and surgical robot safety management

In laparoscopic surgery, surgeons find particular difficulties related to the operation technique. Due to restricted view, lack of depth information from the monocular endoscope and limited degree of freedom, surgeons find their movements impeded. A support system that provides improved laparoscopic vision would help to overcome the difficulties. If real-time visualization of abdominal structures were feasible, more accurate procedures and improved quantitative evaluations in laparoscopic surgery might be possible. In this study, a laser-scan endoscope system was developed to acquire and visualize the shape and texture of the area of interest instantaneously. The intraoperative geometric information of deformable organ could be applied for robotic safety management via geometric computation of robot position and organ shape. Results of in vivo experiments on a pig liver verified effectiveness of the proposed system. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.