Medical robotics and computer assisted surgery are used in a growing number of operating rooms around the world, largely as a result of the popularity of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS), which uses special instruments that can be inserted into and manipulated through small incisions typically no more than a few millimetres long. It operates under remote optical and video guidance and greatly reduces patient trauma and recovery times. For robotic assisted MIS, dexterity is enhanced by microprocessor controlled mechanical wrists, which allow motion scaling for reducing gross hand movements and the performance of micro-scale tasks that are otherwise not possible.
The aim of this project is to develop effective visualisation and augmented reality techniques for extending the vision of the surgeon during robotic assisted MIS by integrating pre- and intra-operative morphological and functional information of the anatomy. It is focused on the development of new techniques for multi-modal and multi-scale image co-registration and fusion, real-time 3D soft-tissue deformation modelling, reconstruction, and haptic feedback for providing more effective, safer navigation of the complex surgical environment.
The key technical objectives of the consortium are:
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To develop real-time AR for pre- and intra-operative visualisation and navigation under large tissue deformation;
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To integrate 3D functional imaging to provide in vivo, in situ tissue characterisation and “see-through” vision;
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To develop dynamic motion stabilisation with real-time 3D tissue deformation recovery;
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To implement dynamic active constraints and haptic feedback for safer, accurate instrument-tissue interaction;
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To develop gaze contingent collaborative visualisation and tele-mentoring.
The proposed project also addresses the underlying visualistion framework for surgical training and learning environments, and is expected to have wider benefits beyond medicine, with important applications in the fields of vision science, image processing, remote sensing, biophotonics and other non-surgical robotic applications.
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