Surgeons may soon ‘see around corners’ through real-time 3D images

A first-of-its-kind endoscope that allows surgeons to see around obstructions and generate real-time 3D images while performing surgery, may soon be a reality thanks to a recent license agreement made between The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and EndoPodium, a minimally invasive surgical technology company based in San Diego, California.

“SickKids has always been at the forefront of developing cutting-edge medical technology,” says Dr. James Wright, Chief of Perioperative Services and Surgeon-in-Chief at SickKids, “This agreement is the first step towards making many surgeries faster and easier and ultimately improving patient outcomes.”

Under the agreement SickKids and EndoPodium will collaborate to create a prototype of an endoscope that will function similar to an umbrella. During minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, the closed device can be inserted into a small incision and its three arms - each equipped with a camera and a light source - opened once inside the body. The three camera view means a larger viewing field and the ability to reconstruct a 3D scene of the target area.

SickKids’ Centre for Image-Guided Innovation & Therapeutic Intervention (CIGITI) group developed the idea for the endoscope after collaborating with surgeons, engineers and software developers.

more about 3D video technology here

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World's First 3D Surface Anatomy Guide

Thursday, 8th December 2011 The world’s first 3D surface anatomy guide for medical and physiotherapy students, surgical trainees and artists has been developed in Ireland through a unique collaboration between anatomists, artists and engineers. Launched today in the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) in Dublin, the two year project, funded by Science Foundation Ireland and the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI), has resulted in an on-line 3D guide which shows the motions of muscles and the sites of structures from the surface inwards.  It shows how, by using movement, colour, illustration and 3D technology, anatomists, engineers and artists can collaborate to teach the body from the outside in.

The project combined artistic representation, engineering expertise and anatomical accuracy into a four hour teaching programme and will shortly be part of the curriculum/training for medical students in Dublin, Bahrain and Kuala Lumpur.  Computer aided learning is an elegant and cost-effective solution for medical students as it gives them  access to a 3D representation of the human body and helps mitigate the traditional constraints of medical education such as a lack of willing live models.


Stereo-3D or stereoscopic photography was used to create the footage for the project but the technology has been around for a long time.  Stereoscopic pictures of Dublin can be found in the National Library dating from 1865. The technology has been through several reincarnations in the past but it is only in the last five years that the technology has caught up with the idea as everyone knows from the explosion of 3D content on the big screen.

“What is less known is that it is still hard to shoot things in stereo-3D. The crew needs to work with two cameras mechanically and electronically coupled to each other. Quite aside from the physical problems of manipulating the camera rig, it turns out that the camera sensors can never be the same. This is bad for stereo-3D viewing and tends to make people feel ill. The engineering challenges centre on fixing the pictures in post-production using signal processing algorithms designed by the Sigmedia group at Trinity,” said Anil Kokaram, associate professor at the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Trinity College.

Full article here

TrueVision Announces 3D HD Visualization, Recording and Editing System for Surgical Education

 TrueVision Announces 3D HD Visualization, Recording and Editing System for Surgical Education


TrueVision® packages its patented, award winning technology at comparable 2D HD video system pricing; offers upgrade path to its computer based surgical guidance platform

TrueVision® 3D Surgical, the leader in 3D visualization and computer-based guidance for microsurgery, announced its new product for recording, editing and presenting 3D surgical video. The product targets surgical education in neurosurgery, ophthalmology, spine, orthopedic, ENT and any other discipline which uses a surgical microscope.

The TrueVision® 3D High Definition Visualization, Recording, and Editing System is a real-time, computer-based, stereoscopic, 3D high-definition system that attaches to microscopes for display of the surgical field on 3D flat panel displays in the operating room.

The advanced technology is also used to record, edit and playback 3D surgical video and to stream live stereoscopic video of the surgical field, making it an unparalleled teaching tool. It plays back stereoscopic surgical video to 3D-equipped conference rooms and theaters for any size audience.

“The benefits of 3D over 2D visualization are well understood within surgical education.” says Forrest Fleming CEO of TrueVision 3D Surgical. “This is another step towards TrueVision’s goal of supplanting 2D video with 3D HD video that is cost-effective and easy to use.”

The company is offering an aggressive pricing strategy to market the system as competitive with the current 2D HD offerings available today. The system can be easily upgraded to the TrueVision® 3D Visualization and Guidance System to run “smart” applications as they come available. TrueVision® was awarded “The Best of 2010” and a “Top Products of 2010” by Cataract and Refractive Cataract Surgery Today. TrueVision® Visualization, Recording and Editing system is listed with the FDA as a class 1 medical device. The TrueVision® 3D Visualization and Guidance System is listed with the FDA as a class 2 medical device.

Features:

* Retrofits to most surgical microscopes
* Primary or secondary visualization in the operating room
* Easy to use, plug and play with “one-touch” recording and playback
* Over 4 hours of 3D HD recording
* TrueEdit® click and drag editor, outputs 2D or 3D HD
* Upgrade path to “smart” surgical applications
* It is the leading 3D system for microsurgery and the standard for 3D surgical education all over the world
* Open architecture for future computer based applications

The System Includes:

TrueZoom® 3D surgical camera

* Resolution up to 1920 x 1080 pixels for each eye (progressive scan)
* Aspect Ratio 16:9 or 4:3
* Instant 2X zoom with panning, no loss in resolution
* Image has up to twice the depth of field compared to oculars
* Wide dynamic range and high color accuracy
* No alignment, focus, or synchronization necessary