Clinical Translation of Augmented Reality Visualization for Laparoscopic Surgery

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall objective of the proposed research is to fully develop and conduct clinical translation of a novel technology that provides minimally invasive surgeons an ability to visualize exposed organ surfaces as wellas structures hidden by them, together with a true appreciation of depth. A long-standing need in minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery has been to see inside and around a structure before dissecting, a need that currently used laparoscopes, even when high- definition and stereoscopic, cannot meet. We plan to achieve our objective by integrating 2 real- time surgical imaging modalities: (1) newly emerged 3-dimensional (3D) laparoscopic camera technology that allows visualizing the surgical anatomy with the highest image quality currently available and perception of true depth, and (2) laparoscopic ultrasound capable of visualizing hidden structures. We call the resulting visualization capability stereoscopic augmented reality (AR), in which 3D laparos