Evaluation of a calibration rig for stereo laparoscopes.

Background: Accurate camera and hand-eye calibration are essential to ensure high-quality results in image-guided surgery applications. The process must also be able to be undertaken by a nonexpert user in a surgical setting.

Purpose: This work seeks to identify a suitable method for tracked stereo laparoscope calibration within theater.

A patient-specific multi-modality abdominal aortic aneurysm imaging phantom.

Purpose: Multimodality imaging of the vascular system is a rapidly growing area of innovation and research, which is increasing with awareness of the dangers of ionizing radiation. Phantom models that are applicable across multiple imaging modalities facilitate testing and comparisons in pre-clinical studies of new devices. Additionally, phantom models are of benefit to surgical trainees for gaining experience with new techniques.

Multispectral tissue mapping: developing a concept for the optical evaluation of liver disease.

Alterations in the optical absorption behavior of liver tissue secondary to pathological processes can be evaluated by multispectral analysis, which is increasingly being explored as an imaging adjunct for use in liver surgery. Current methods are either invasive or have a limited wavelength spectrum, which restricts utility. This proof of concept study describes the development of a multispectral imaging (MSI) method called multispectral tissue mapping (MTM) that addresses these issues.

Electromagnetic tracking in image-guided laparoscopic surgery: Comparison with optical tracking and feasibility study of a combined laparoscope and laparoscopic ultrasound system.

Purpose: In image-guided laparoscopy, optical tracking is commonly employed, but electromagnetic (EM) systems have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we provide a thorough comparison of EM and optical tracking systems for use in image-guided laparoscopic surgery and a feasibility study of a combined, EM-tracked laparoscope and laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) image guidance system.

Methods: We first assess the tracking accuracy of a laparoscope with two optical trackers tracking retroreflective markers mounted on the shaft and an EM tracker with the sensor embedded at the proximal end, using a standard evaluation plate.

3D printing from microfocus computed tomography (micro-CT) in human specimens: education and future implications.

Microfocus CT (micro-CT) is an imaging method that provides three-dimensional digital data sets with comparable resolution to light microscopy. Although it has traditionally been used for non-destructive testing in engineering, aerospace industries and in preclinical animal studies, new applications are rapidly becoming available in the clinical setting including post-mortem fetal imaging and pathological specimen analysis. Printing three-dimensional models from imaging data sets for educational purposes is well established in the medical literature, but typically using low resolution (0.