[Endoscopic 3-D imaging--measuring biological surfaces]

The precise endoscopical measurement of topometrical structures of organs will overcome limitations in present minimal invasive surgery and lead to new operation techniques. This paper describes a research project concerning an endoscopical 3D-measurement system based on optical techniques. We will introduce prototype endoscopes for minimal invasive 3D-measurements and the applied photogrammetrical algorithms for acquiring the topometrical structures. The influence of major organ surface properties on the measurement will be discussed and first results will be presented.