title: Polarised stereo endoscope and narrowband detection for minimal access surgery.
abstract: Polarisation imaging has the potential to provide enhanced contrast based on variations in the optical properties, such as scattering or birefringence, of the tissue of interest. Examining the signal at different wavebands in the visible spectrum also allows interrogation of different depths and structures. A stereo endoscope has been adapted to allow snapshot acquisition of orthogonal linear polarisation images to generate difference of linear polarisation images. These images are acquired in three narrow bands using a triple-bandpass filter and pair of colour cameras. The first in vivo results, acquired during a surgical procedure on a porcine subject, are presented that show wavelength dependent variations in vessel visibility and an increase in contrast under polarised detection.
authors.affiliation: Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK ; Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Neil T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Clancy
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Shobhit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arya
authors.affiliation: Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK ; Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Danail
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stoyanov
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: George B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Hanna
authors.affiliation: Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK ; Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Elson
keywords: (170.2150) Endoscopic imaging; (170.3880) Medical and biological imaging; (170.6510) Spectroscopy, tissue diagnostics; (290.5855) Scattering, polarization