This paper introduces a stereoscopic fibroscope
imaging system for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) and
examines the feasibility of utilizing images transmitted from the
distal fibroscope tip to a proximally mounted CCD camera to
recover both camera motion and 3D scene information. Fibre
image guides facilitate instrument miniaturization and have the
advantage of being more easily integrated with articulated
robotic instruments. In this paper, twin 10,000 pixel coherent
fibre bundles (590μm diameter) have been integrated into a
bespoke laparoscopic imaging instrument. Images captured by
the system have been used to build a 3D map of the
environment and reconstruct the laparoscope’s 3D pose and
motion using a SLAM algorithm. Detailed phantom validation
of the system demonstrates its practical value and potential for
flexible MIS instrument integration due to the small footprint
and flexible nature of the fibre image guides.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUjZEGuu08g