Endoscopic visualization is of primary importance for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures and various clinical diagnoses. However, a known limitation of current endoscopic imaging technology for some procedures and applications is the limited field of view. For better comprehension of the operating field, it is highly desirable and in some procedures critically important, to be able to view panoramically. Under previous NIH support, InterScience, Inc. has developed a """"""""C-View"""""""" endoscope system which is able to capture a field of view larger than a hemisphere (3@ steradian solid angle) onto a single 2D image plane. However, because this endoscopic system delivers a very wide 3D field of view to a single 2D image plane, objects in the panoramic field of view suffer from the inherent barrel distortion when displayed on a traditional 2D display. The objective of this SBIR effort is to develop compatible display technologies that can present the panoramic image collected by such an endoscope to the clinician. Under the Phase I effort, two approaches have been pursued to achieve this. One is to optically recreate compatible panoramic images on a more than hemispherical 3D screen by the projection based on an innovative optical system. The second approach is to display a small portion of the panoramic image in a head-mounted 2D display, and the different portion with different angle of view can be displayed by tracking the head motion. With a combination of a wide-field-of-view endoscope and the proposed immersive display system, it will allow clinicians to situate in an immersive virtual reality environment as exactly what the endoscope locates. Clinical diagnoses and MIS will greatly benefit from such an endoscopic imaging and displaying system. During the Phase I effort, we have successfully developed the concepts and designs, and demonstrated a preliminary bench top projection system. This Phase II effort will focus on the advanced developments, implementations and tests of the two proposed immersive display technologies for clinical applications. The specific Phase II emphasis is to optimize the optical designs, develop compatible software, fabricate the two different prototypes with software integrated, as well as conduct corresponding experimental tests and evaluations in collaboration with medical clinicians
The proposed enhanced endoscopic display technology will provide enhanced visualization and immersive display opportunities for all applications of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) including robotic surgery applications. The development effort is concentrated on a standard display and a head mounted display configuration.
