Development of a hands-free pointer for instruction during minimally invasive surgery

The WHaSP, a Wireless Hands-free Surgical Pointer system has been developed to address the challenges of providing instruction during minimally invasive surgery. A headset worn by the instructing surgeon, and tracked using infrared and inertial technologies, is used to control a pointer that is overlaid on the surgical video. The combination of inertial and infrared tracking provides optimal control of the pointer and high accuracy. Experiments have been performed to validate the performance of the WHaSP prototype as compared to a commercially available hands-free pointing system. The results demonstrate improved performance, independent from the distance to the monitor. A new prototype is currently under construction that greatly improves the stability, ergonomics, and ease of use of the system. The WHaSP has the potential to significantly improve surgical instruction during minimally invasive surgery.