A configurable system for role-specific video imaging during laparoscopic surgery

In minimally invasive surgery, the surgeon and the assistant rely on a single laparoscopic video view for performing different clinical roles. The assistant is tasked with manipulating the camera view so as to maintain a global, panoramic view of the operation. The surgeon needs to remain focused on the operation, requiring a detailed close-up view. We use the term role-specific video imaging to describe the need to provide separate views for the assistant and the surgeon. In this paper we introduce role-specific video imaging for laparosopic surgery. The system is designed to be configurable in the sense that imaging parameters and algorithms can be adjusted in real-time so as to meet the specific needs that arise. The system was evaluated on 4 cases by two surgeons on a Linux-based 3.2.0 Kernel, with 4GB RAM, and Intel 3.4GHz I7 (2nd generation) microprocessor. Clinical evaluation of the different configuration modes has helped us determine that high-quality role-specific imaging can be achieved for zooming factors that are larger or equal to 2×2 with bilinear interpolation, while maintaining 30 frame per seconds for the panoramic and close-up views. In future work, in order to minimize interaction with the surgical team, the system will be upgraded to incorporate tracking of the operating instrument during surgery.