TUM Research in Medical Augmented Reality

 

If you want to learn about great translational research project, check out the website of TUM's MAR group led by Nassir Navab:

• NARVIS - navigated augmented reality visualization system

• Automatic Progression Tracking of Skin Lesions

• Augmented Reality Magic Mirror using the Kinect

• heARt - Heart surgery Enhanced by Augmented Reality Techniques

• patient-Specific Translational research on Atherosclerosis and Diagnosis (STAnD)

• ARAV Augmented Reality Aided Vertebroplasty

• Improving Depth Perception and Perception of Layout for In-Situ Visualization in Medical Augmented Reality

• Virtual Mirror: Interaction Paradigm for Augmented Reality Applications

• Intra-operative Human Computer Interaction and Usability Evaluations

• Advanced imaging in Head Mounted Displays (HMD) for Patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration

• Intra-operative Imaging and Navigation for Minimal Invasiveness in Head and Neck Cancer

• Intra-operative Imaging and Navigation for Guidance in Neurosurgical Procedures

• Augmented Reality Supported Patient Education and Consultation

• Real-time fusion of ultrasound and gamma probe for navigated localization of malignancy

• Freehand SPECT for Sentinel Lymph Node Localization

• Camera Augmented Mobile C-arm ( CamC )

• 3D user interfaces for medical interventions

• Magneto-Optic Tracking of a Flexible Laparoscopic Ultrasound Transducer

• Laparoscope Augmentation for Minimally Invasive Liver Resection

• Intra-operative Beta Probe Surface Imaging and Navigation for Optimal Tumor Resection 

   

First clinical results of the da Vinci Sp Single Port device

A novel article is under publication in the European Urology about the very first clinical trials of the da Vinci single port robot. The  surgical  procedures  were done  during  a  3-week-long  period  in  July  2010  at  Lille  Regional  Hospital  Center in France.

"Objective:  To  determine  the  clinical  feasibility  and  safety  of  single-port  urologic  procedures  by  using a  novel  robotic  surgical  system.
Design,  setting,  and  participants:  This  was  a  prospective  institutional  review  board–approved, Innovation,  Development,  Exploration,  Assessment,  Long-term  Study  (IDEAL)  phase  1  study.  After enrollment,  patients  underwent  a  major  urologic  robotic  single-port  procedure  over  a  3-wk  period  in July  2010.  The  patients  were  followed  for  3  yr  postoperatively.
Intervention:  Different  types  of  urologic  surgeries  were  performed  using  the  da  Vinci  SP  Surgical System.  This  system  is  intended  to  provide  the  same  core  clinical  capabilities  as  the  existing multiport  da  Vinci  system,  except  that  three  articulating  endoscopic  instruments  and  an  articulating endoscopic  camera  are  inserted  into  the  patient  through  a  single  robotic  port.
Outcome  measurements  and  statistical  analysis:  The  main  outcomes  were  the  technical  feasibility  of the  procedures  (as  measured  by  the  rate  of  conversions)  and  the  safety  of  the  procedures  (as measured  by  the  incidence  of  perioperative  complications).  Secondary  end  points  consisted  of evaluating  other  key  surgical  perioperative  outcomes  as  well  as  midterm  functional  and  oncologic outcomes.
Results  and  limitations:  A  total  of  19  patients  were  enrolled  in  the  study.  Eleven  of  them  underwent radical  prostatectomy;  eight  subjects  underwent  nephrectomy  procedures  (partial  nephrectomy, four;  radical  nephrectomy,  two;  and  simple  nephrectomy,  two).  There  were  no  conversions  to alternative  surgical  approaches.  Overall,  two  major  (Clavien  grade  3b)  postoperative  complications were  observed  in  the  radical  prostatectomy  group  and  none  in  the  nephrectomy  group.  At  1-yr follow-up,  one  radical  prostatectomy  patient  experienced  biochemical  recurrence,  which  was successfully  treated  with  salvage  radiation  therapy.  The  median  warm  ischemia  time  for  three  of the  partial  nephrectomies  was  38  min.  At  3-yr  follow-up  all  patients  presented  a  preserved  renal function;  none  had  tumor  recurrence.  Study  limitations  include  the  small  sample  and  the  lack  of  a control  group.
Conclusions:  We  describe  the  first  clinical  application  of  a  novel  robotic  platform  specifically
designed  for  single-port  urologic  surgery.  Major  urologic  procedures  were  successfully  completed without  conversions.  Further  assessment  is  warranted  to  corroborate  these  promising  findings."

Image credit: European Urology

Video Wednesday

The da Vinci Xi--once more.

Report from IEEE ICRA -- part2

The obvious rise of medical robotics was witnessed at IEEE ICRA. (Check the first part of the report here.) This year, we have even seen parallel medical robotics sessions running at the conference, and the overall large number of CIS related papers (75+ with the keyword medical robot ) gave a huge challenge to people who wanted to check them all. Let us give a little overview of what trends are emerging, based on the sessions:

• Force control for medical robot  (I-II): mostly adaptations to the known systems by the large groups (retinal microsurgery at Hopkins, surgical debridement at Berkeley, hand-held microsurgical forceps at Imperial)
• Force sensing for medical robot: FBGs and all kinds of other fun
• Planning for medical robots : e.g., for tooth preparation
• Safety: it is absolutely welcomed to see the rise of safety issues; new frameworks are being proposed for serving the “safety by design” concept. The ISO/IEC standardization folks may well benefit from it. Another tool for safe bone drilling came from UTokyo.
• Design (I-II): a new retinal surgery setup from KUL, skull base system from Leibniz,
• Estimation: Probably these talks have covered the most typically expected topic, including image-based information processing and control for beating heart surgery.
• Laparoscopy and flexible endoscopes
• Continuum robots: this field has been dominating conferences for years now, it was time to organize a specific track for that. Our favorite is the new hand-held design from Vanderbilt University. (The lab of Bob Webster is often featured here for its merits.)

Image credit: U. Vanderbilt,  UW.

Quiz #9

Solution for our last, Quiz#8 was the Titan's SPORT system current prototype. (Learn more about it here.) We received a kind-of correct solution from "crazymerkz"--congratulations!

Next one: which system can be seen above? You can submit your answers to surgrob.blog at gmail.com until August 30.

CIS news

• Robocast technology: positioning dental implants
• Robotic prostate surgery dominating the decade
• Japanese government to support robotics surgery
• HIFU is emerging
• Skeptical Scapel on surgery in space
• IMRIS got a new website 
• Terrestrial spinoff of space research
• Cognitive assessment of surgeons at U. Buffalo
•   PhD openings in Biomedical Robotics at  the IIT

CFPs:

• Submit to our IROS Workshop on Human-robot Collaboration in Standardization
• Submit to our IROS Workshop on Ontologies for Robotics
• Submit to SPIE2015
• CRAS deadline extended to Aug. 20!
• IDEAS workshop at Harvard

Video Wednesday

Hamlyn Robotics: Meet the robots helping surgeons