Proposed is a new stereoscopic, high resolution Head Mounted Display for Medical Diagnostics (HMD-MD). The main envisioned application of the proposed device is in endoscopes, where visual perception is the dominant source of information about the organ under examination. In digital endoscopy fusion of visual information of multiple modalities calls for displays with resolutions and fields of view exceeding those of each individual image source. Compared to existing HMD devices, the new design will dramatically increase the amount of 2-D and 3-D visual information presented to the user by providing superior level of detail and field of view, approaching the capabilities of 20/20 vision. This capability of the proposed HMD-MD will increase productivity and reliability of a wide range of medical procedures involving imaging, from diagnostics in early detection and wellness programs to mini-invasive surgery. Phase I of the project will focus on the feasibility studies of high-resolution near-eye optics. Requirements to the near-eye optical system will be specified, based on the studies of optics, physiology, and psychology of human vision relevant the project goals and device application. Physiological and psychological properties of the eye coupled to the HMD will be addressed, including eye motion and accommodation. Several designs of the HMD optics will be proposed, developed, and evaluated by computer modeling against predefined feasibility criteria. A proof-of-concept prototype will be fabricated. The performance of the prototype will be tested experimentally to verify the design results and confirm the feasibility of the proposed HMD-MD.
