3-D operation situs reconstruction with time-of-flight satellite cameras using photogeometric data fusion

Minimally invasive procedures are of growing importance in modern surgery. Navigation and orientation are major issues during these interventions as conventional endoscopes only cover a limited field of view. We propose the application of a Time-of-Flight (ToF) satellite camera at the zenith of the pneumoperitoneum to survey the operation situs. Due to its limited field of view we propose a fusion of different 3-D views to reconstruct the situs using photometric and geometric information provided by the ToF sensor. We were able to reconstruct the entire abdomen with a mean absolute mesh-to-mesh error of less than 5 mm compared to CT ground truth data, at a frame rate of 3 Hz. The framework was evaluated on real data from a miniature ToF camera in an open surgery pig study and for quantitative evaluation with a realistic human phantom. With the proposed approach to operation situs reconstruction we improve the surgeons' orientation and navigation and therefore increase safety and speed up surgical interventions.