Gaze contingent control for an articulated mechatronic laparoscope

This paper introduces two techniques for controlling an articulated mechatronic laparoscope through the eyes of the surgeon during minimally invasive surgery. The system consists of a 2D eye tracking unit interfaced with a mechatronic laparoscope that has five controllable degrees-of-freedom (DoF) located at the distal end of a rigid shaft. Through the use of image feedback from a tip mounted camera, a closed-loop gaze contingent framework featuring two separate control techniques (“Individual Joint Selection” and “Automatic Joint Selection”) was developed. Under this framework, the location of a surgeon´s 2D fixation point is converted into commands that servo the laparoscope. Experimental results illustrate the ability of both techniques to perform real-time gaze contingent laparoscope control. A key advantage of the proposed system is the ability to provide the operator with sufficient distal dexterity to achieve stable off-axis visualisation in an intuitive, hands-free manner, thus allowing other handheld instruments to be controlled simultaneously. Potential applications include Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS) or Natural Orifice Trans-Endoluminal Surgery (NOTES), where the use of multiple instruments passing through a single incision presents both visualization and ergonomic challenges.