Gaze-contingent control for minimally invasive robotic surgery.
OBJECTIVE
Recovering tissue depth and deformation during robotically assisted minimally invasive procedures is an important step towards motion compensation, stabilization and co-registration with preoperative data. This work demonstrates that eye gaze derived from binocular eye tracking can be effectively used to recover 3D motion and deformation of the soft tissue.


METHODS
A binocular eye-tracking device was integrated into the stereoscopic surgical console. After calibration, the 3D fixation point of the participating subjects could be accurately resolved in real time. A CT-scanned phantom heart model was used to demonstrate the accuracy of gaze-contingent depth extraction and motion stabilization of the soft tissue. The dynamic response of the oculomotor system was assessed with the proposed framework by using autoregressive modeling techniques. In vivo data were also used to perform gaze-contingent decoupling of cardiac and respiratory motion.


RESULTS
Depth reconstruction, deformation tracking, and motion stabilization of the soft tissue were possible with binocular eye tracking. The dynamic response of the oculomotor system was able to cope with frequencies likely to occur under most routine minimally invasive surgical operations.


CONCLUSIONS
The proposed framework presents a novel approach towards the tight integration of a human and a surgical robot where interaction in response to sensing is required to be under the control of the operating surgeon.
Mylonas
George P
GP
Department of Computing, Royal Society/Wolfson Foundation Medical Image Computing Laboratory, 180 Queen's Gate, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BZ, United Kingdom.
Darzi
Ara
A
Yang
Guang Zhong
GZ
D000465:Algorithms; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009038:Motion; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010780:Photogrammetry; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed