- In computer aided surgery, we seek to build systems that guide the surgeon. This should lead to safer surgery, and better outcomes for the patients. In this project, students will investigate some of the key concepts in building an “Augmented Reality” (AR) system for computer aided surgery.
In key hole surgery, the video camera of the laparoscope provides a convenient means to capture a view of the surgical scene. The video image provides the “Reality” part of “Augmented Reality”. The video image can then be “Augmented” with additional information from pre-operative data such as Magnetic Resonance (MR) or Computed Tomography (CT) scans, for example, highlighting the position of tumours and critical structures like blood vessels.
In this project students will construct a basic AR system using Python. A live video camera (Laptop Webcam) will be used to capture a view of a surgical scene (Pelvis Phantom). A surgical pointer will be calibrated. The calibrated pointer will be used to mark fiducial points, and used to register a CT model of the pelvis to the scene. The CT data will then be overlaid on the video to complete the demo.
Outcomes:
After completing this workshop the student should be able to: - Calibrate a camera using a chessboard or similar.
- Calibrate a tracked pointer, using an invariant point method.
- Use the tracked pointer to locate fiducial markers in the camera scene.
- Use the located fiducial markers to register the pre-operative CT scan of a phantom to the camera scene.