Endoscopy has not only revolutionized patient care in the domain of minimally invasive surgery, but has also been recently applied to high-resolution molecular imaging for screening and assessment of early-stage diseases. The state-of-the-art laparoscopic technologies, however, have a number of limitations. One limitation lies in the lack of the ability to acquire both wide-angle and high-resolution images simultaneously through a single integrated probe, which introduces challenges when used in clinical scenarios requiring both detailed close up views and wide angle overviews for orientation during surgical maneuvers. Currently, this limitation is addressed by manually moving the entire laparoscope in and out, requiring a second trained assistant and introducing ergonomic conflicts, especially with the recent development of single port access procedures with close grouping of the laparoscope and working instruments. Digital zooming has also been attempted to address the need for both wide angle and high-magnification views but has been limited by the resulting loss of resolution. This proposal responds to this pressing challenge. By leveraging the advancements of optical technologies, we aim to develop an innovative laparoscope that can simultaneously obtain both wide-angle and high-magnification images of a surgical area in real-time in a fully integrated probe. The probe will also be able to automatically scan and engage the high-magnification probe to any sub-region of the surgical field through optical tracking capabilities, vary the optical magnification of the high-resolution probe without the need of physically advancing or withdrawing the probe, and maintain a low profile to minimize interfaces with surgical instruments. We overcome the limitations of existing laparoscopes by optically coupling a wide-angle system with an actively foveated, high-resolution probe. At a low magnification, the laparoscope will image a large surgical field with a field of view (FOV) and spatial resolution equivalent to those of a standard laparoscope, providing a """"""""stadium view"""""""". A sub-region of the examination field, which we call the """"""""foveated"""""""" field, will then be imaged at a significantly higher magnification to visualize more detailed structure for diagnosis or surgical treatment. The level of optical magnification and the foveated field can be optically manipulated through real-time optical tracking and zooming capabilities. In this project, a prototype system will be developed and various aspects of imaging quality will be preliminarily evaluated against standard surgical laparoscopes. More comprehensive evaluation will be followed up in the future using both laparoscopic training system and complex biological models to evaluate the values of a multi-resolution endoscope for various clinical applications. The proposed approach is innovative in that it optically couples a wide-angle probe with an actively foveated, high-resolution image probe with continuously adjustable region of interest and optical magnification. The advantages are quite obvious. For instance, it preserves the benefits of a wide-angle probe and enhances a low-resolution probe with high-resolution imaging capability. Although providing significantly advanced imaging capabilities, the multi-resolution laparoscope probe preserves the compactness of a standard laparoscope. If successful, we envision an integrated multi-resolution laparoscope will provide important new diagnostic and surgical tools and create multi-fold impacts. Because of the unique cost and resolution advantages of our proposed imaging method, such a system can be quickly translated to several fields of clinical use.
This project will develop a novel multi-resolution foveated laparoscope that captures both wide-angle and high-magnification images of a surgical area in real time at variable optical magnifications. The proposed approach is innovative in that it optically couples a wide-angle probe with an actively foveated, high-resolution image probe with continuously adjustable region of interest and optical magnification. If successful, we envision an integrated multi-resolution laparoscope will provide important new diagnostic and surgical tools and create multi-fold impacts. Because of the unique cost and resolution advantages of our proposed imaging method, such a system can be quickly translated to several fields of clinical use.
| Qin, Yi; Hua, Hong (2016) Optical design and system engineering of a multiresolution foveated laparoscope. Appl Opt 55:3058-68 |
| Lu, Sheng-Huei; Hua, Hong (2015) Imaging properties of extended depth of field microscopy through single-shot focus scanning. Opt Express 23:10714-31 |
| Qin, Yi; Hua, Hong; Nguyen, Mike (2013) Multiresolution foveated laparoscope with high resolvability. Opt Lett 38:2191-3 |
