ABSTRACT
Although minimally invasive surgery provides many advantages, the fact is that keyhole approaches limit the surgeon’s traditional and natural three-dimensional (3D) perception inside the human body. For example, the constrained field-of-view of endoscopes/laparoscopes and the lack of haptic feedback from systems such as the da Vinci Xi (Intuitive Surgical Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) can diminish the surgeon’s visual and tactile cues. Efforts to improve robotic surgery have looked to augment information visually and through other multi-sensory feedback and control.
This chapter reviews recent approaches in AR for robotic surgery in both passive and active guidance paradigms. Sources of information for AR include preoperative and intraoperative medical imaging and sensors. While sensory information is augmented, for passive paradigms the control of the system remains completely unchanged. Conversely, the active paradigms discussed in the chapter include visual and force-servo mechanisms through which the integrated source of information assumes some degree of control of an intraoperative device traditionally reserved for the surgeon. Results support the efficacy and potential of navigation in applying AR in medical robotics. Further integration of AR with active guidance mechanisms will continue to push the boundaries of shared control in robotics towards improved navigation, spatial orientation, and intraoperative confidence.
