Dimension Technologies inc. (DTI) proposes to study how its advanced autostereoscopic minimally invasive surgery. While the performance benefits of stereo are clear, recent stereoscopic products have been slow to gain acceptance. Existing systems have not reached the cost/ performance levels required for clinical application. These systems, which require a the surgeon to wear special glasses, have inherent performance limitations, and cost 2-3 times more than conventional monoscopic systems. DTI has a display technology which can overcome many of these limitations. It is called autostereoscopy, and means images with depth can be viewed without special glasses. The technology can be embodied in a compact form, suitable for placement within the sterile field of a patient. This allows for ideal positioning of the display to optimize a surgeon's a surgeon's hand-eye coordination. These advantages provide the foundation for achieving the necessary performance levels for endo/laparoscopic surgery. DTI proposes to conduct applied testing with its autostereoscopic technology. Testing will identify critical system issues and quantify improvements in performance for endoscopic surgical procedures. DTI will use these results to develop an autostereoscopic display system which will deliver improved performance for endo/laparoscopic surgery, at an acceptable cost.
Commercial applications include: telesurgery, remote tele-operations for hazardous waste removal, stereomicroscopy, avionics, industrial inspection, and consumer electronic markets.
