A wireless robotic video laparo-endoscope for minimal invasive surgery

This paper describes the design, prototype and deployment of a network of wireless Miniature Anchored Robotic Videoscopes for Expedited Laparoscopy (MARVEL). The MARVEL robotic Camera Modules (CMs) remove the need for a dedicated trocar port for an external laparoscope, additional incisions for surgical instrumentation, camera cabling for power, video and xenon light, and an assistant in the operating room to hold and position the laparoscope. The system includes: (1) Multiple MARVEL CMs that feature a wireless controlled pan/tilt camera platform, which provides a full hemisphere field of view inside the abdominal cavity from different angles, wirelessly controlled focus and a wireless illumination control system, (2) a Master Control Module (MCM) that provides a near-zero latency video wireless communications link, independent wireless control for multiple MARVEL CMs, digital zoom, manual focus, and a wireless Human-Machine Interface (HMI) that provides the surgeon with full control over all the functions of the CMs. In-vivo experiments on a porcine subject were carried out to test the performance of the system.