Mitsuhiro Hayashibe

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.

Robotic surgery setup simulation with the integration of inverse-kinematics computation and medical imaging

At present, there are representative robot operation systems such as da Vinci and ZEUS which have realized minimally invasive surgery by the use of dexterous manipulators. In the operating room, medical staff must prepare and set up an environment in which the robot has optimal freedom of motion and its functions can be fully demonstrated for every case. The range of motion in which the robot can reach and be maneuvered is restricted by the fixed point of the trocar site. We have developed a preoperative planning system with the function of volume rendering of medical images and automatic positioning by applying an inverse-kinematics computation of surgical robot. The motion of a surgical robot can be simulated in advance with the intuitive interface and kinematics computation program running in the background of the system. If robotic surgery planning with volume rendering of DICOM images is possible, the discussion of a surgical plan can be directly made just after the diagnosis considering the patient-specific structure. This kind of setup platform would be essential for the future introduction of surgical robotics into an operating room.

Intraoperative Fast 3D Shape Recovery of Abdominal Organs in Laparoscopy

Precise measurements of geometry should accompany robotic equipments in operating rooms if their advantages are further pursued. For deforming organs including the liver, intraoperative geometric measurements play an essential role in computer surgery in addition to preoperative geometric information from CT/MRI. The laser-scan endoscope system acquires and visualizes the shape of the area of interest in a flash of time in laparoscopy. Results of in-vivo experiments on the liver of a pig verify the effectiveness of the proposed system. This system offers surgeons high-speed 3D geometric visualization to provide an intuitive orientation under laparoscopic surgery.

Surgical navigation display system using volume rendering of intraoperatively scanned CT images

As operative procedures become more complicated, simply increasing the number of devices will not facilitate such operations. It is necessary to consider the ergonomics of the operating environment, especially with regard to the provision of navigation data, the prevention of technical difficulties, and the comfort of the operating room staff. We have designed and created a data-fusion interface that enables volumetric Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP) image navigation using intra-operative mobile 3D-CT data in the OR. The 3D volumetric data reflecting a patients inner structure is directly displayed on the monitor through video images of the surgical field using a 3D optical tracking system, a ceiling-mounted articulating monitor, and a small-size video camera mounted at the back of the monitor. The system performance and accuracy was validated experimentally. This system provides a novel interface for a surgeon with volume rendering of intra-operatively scanned CT images, as opposed to preoperative images.

Data-fusion display system with volume rendering of intraoperatively scanned CT images

In this study we have designed and created a data-fusion display that has enabled volumetric MIP image navigation using intraoperative C-arm CT data in the operating room. The 3D volumetric data reflecting a patients inner structure is directly displayed on the monitor through video images of the surgical field using a 3D optical tracking system, a ceiling-mounted articulating monitor, and a small size video camera mounted at the back of the monitor. The system performance was validated in an experiment carried out in the operating room.

Gastrointestinal: Fine‐needle aspiration biopsy using three‐dimensional endoscopic ultrasound

Volumetric data from the 3-D EUS was reconstructed from a series of 2-D sonographicimages corresponding to positional data from the probe. These images were captured electronically by a miniatureelectromagnetic tracking sensor attached to the tip of the echoendoscope (Fig. 1). This system, therefore, allowedsimultaneous 3-D visualization throughout the scanning process (image revision rate: 15–20 times/s) and real-timeguidance during interventions.In the present study, we developed software for the 3-D EUS system to enable 3-D needle navigation for fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNA), and elevated its accuracy with an