Dynamic view expansion for enhanced navigation in Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery

Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) is an emerging surgical technique with increasing global interest. It has recently transcended the boundaries of clinical experiments towards initial clinical evaluation. Although profound benefits to the patient have been demonstrated, NOTES requires highly skilled endoscopists for it to be performed safely and successfully. This predominantly reflects the skill required to navigate a flexible endoscope through a spatially complex environment. This paper presents a method to extend the visual field of the surgeon without compromising on the safety of the patient. The proposed dynamic view expansion uses a novel parallax correction scheme to provide enhanced visual cues that aid the navigation and orientation during NOTES surgery in periphery, while leaving the focal view undisturbed. The method was validated using a natural orifice simulated surgical environment and demonstrated on in vivo porcine data.