A Digital Stereo Microscope Platform for Microsurgery Training - Technologies and Applications of Artificial Intelligence - page 294

A Digital Stereo Microscope Platform
for Microsurgery Training
James K. Rappel 1 , Amitabha Lahiri 2 , and Chee Leong Teo 1
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
{james.rappel,clteo}@nus.edu.sg
2 Department of Hand and Reconstructive Microsurgery, National University Health System,
Singapore
[e-mail]
Abstract. We describe a software defined surgical microscope platform for de-
veloping AI applications in surgical training. The microscope has facility to
merge and render multiple streams of live and/or stored video, and has the abil-
ity to enhance, annotate, and measure using a 3D position and orientation track-
ing forceps. A configuration mechanism controls the zoom, focus and disparity
of the stereo view and stores surgeon and procedure specific configuration. The
system tracks the surgical motion and analyses its quality in realtime. Several
measures of quality of motion are described and can be used as a platform to
develop AI applications in surgical training.
Keywords: AI Applications in Surgery, Surgery Training, Personalized Learn-
ing, Surgical Motion Analysis, Dexterous Motion Heuristics, Movement Classi-
fication.
1 Introduction
Microsurgical tasks are generally performed by viewing the tissue through an optical
microscope. It is not an intelligent device and cannot analyze the surgical motions
performed under its view. Hence the surgical movements cannot be practiced for
improvement with realtime feedback. A digital stereo microscope, similar in function
as an optical microscope, can analyze the surgical motion under its view, assess the
quality of the motion and provide realtime feedback. It can be used to develop surgic-
al training applications. The digital stereo microscope is a hand-eye collocated one
where hand movements could be used both for surgical manipulation and for device
control. We describe the appropriateness of this system design for learning and train-
ing dexterous manipulation such as microsurgery.
Firstly, due to this design, surgeons are able to use the dexterous hand and the tools
held by them as the input mechanism to generate various kinds of movement. Human
hand is known to have 27 degrees of freedom (DoF) [1] through the articulation of the
27 bones through its joints: 4 DoF in each finger with 3 DoF arising out of extension
and flexion and one for abduction and adduction, amounting to a total of 20, one addi-
tional DoF for the thumb, 6 DoF for the rotation and translation of the wrist.