Fusion of laser guidance and 3-D autostereoscopic image overlay for precision-guided surgery

Abstract

This paper describes a precision-guided surgical navigation system for minimally invasive surgery using fusion of laser guidance technique and three-dimensional (3-D) autostereoscopic image overlay technique. The images superimposed onto the patient are created by employing an animated autostereoscopic image called integral videography (IV), which display geometrically accurate 3-D autostereoscopic images and reproduce motion parallax without the need for special viewing or tracking devices. To improve the insertion accuracy of surgical instrument, we integrated the image overlay system with laser guidance for visualization of insertion point and orientation of the surgical instrument. We designed and manufactured a laser guidance device and mounted it to the IV image overlay device. Accuracy evaluations showed that the system could guide a linear surgical instrument toward a target with an average error of 2.48 mm and standard deviation of 1.76 mm. Improvement in the design of the laser guidance device and the patient-image registration of the IV image overlay will make this system practical and its use will increase surgical accuracy and reduce invasiveness. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.