Enhancement of spatial awareness in natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery
Author(s)
Karimyan, Vahe
Type
Thesis
Abstract
Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) represents a challenging concept to pursue in minimally invasive procedures, with a promise of becoming even less invasive, but with the additional issues of being team dependent and more technology intensive.
The safety of patients undergoing any surgical procedure is of principal importance. When a surgeon performs laparoscopic procedures, he only has a two dimensional field of view and as a result, his spatial awareness is diminished. A surgeon operating under conditions of reduced spatial awareness poses an increased risk to a patient.
Spatial awareness is deemed a necessary skill for the safe deployment of NOTES procedures. Understanding the surgeon’s situational and spatial awareness during NOTES investigation is therefore of paramount importance for the safe performance of this type of procedures. Enhancing scene visualisation, for instance by means of additional viewpoints or electromagnetic tracking, seems a feasible strategy for augmenting spatial awareness in NOTES. This study aims to propose novel approaches involving electromagnetic tracking and additional off-axis visualisation in an attempt to assess, as well as enhance spatial awareness of the operating field in NOTES.
The original contributions of this thesis include:
• Validation of an outlining approach to characterise spatial awareness in minimally invasive surgery particularly in NOTES
• Qualitative and quantitative assessment of spatial awareness n NOTES
• Identification of certain navigation behavioural patterns in NOTES
• Design and evaluation of spatial awareness enhancement tool for NOTES
The value of the research presented in this thesis, as well as the potential for further development is also discussed in the context of spatial awareness in MIS in general.
The safety of patients undergoing any surgical procedure is of principal importance. When a surgeon performs laparoscopic procedures, he only has a two dimensional field of view and as a result, his spatial awareness is diminished. A surgeon operating under conditions of reduced spatial awareness poses an increased risk to a patient.
Spatial awareness is deemed a necessary skill for the safe deployment of NOTES procedures. Understanding the surgeon’s situational and spatial awareness during NOTES investigation is therefore of paramount importance for the safe performance of this type of procedures. Enhancing scene visualisation, for instance by means of additional viewpoints or electromagnetic tracking, seems a feasible strategy for augmenting spatial awareness in NOTES. This study aims to propose novel approaches involving electromagnetic tracking and additional off-axis visualisation in an attempt to assess, as well as enhance spatial awareness of the operating field in NOTES.
The original contributions of this thesis include:
• Validation of an outlining approach to characterise spatial awareness in minimally invasive surgery particularly in NOTES
• Qualitative and quantitative assessment of spatial awareness n NOTES
• Identification of certain navigation behavioural patterns in NOTES
• Design and evaluation of spatial awareness enhancement tool for NOTES
The value of the research presented in this thesis, as well as the potential for further development is also discussed in the context of spatial awareness in MIS in general.
Date Issued
2012
Date Awarded
2012-12
Copyright Statement
Attribution NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND)
Advisor
Darzi, Ara
yang, Guang-Zhong
Publisher Department
Department of Surgery and Cancer
Publisher Institution
Imperial College London
Qualification Level
Doctoral
Qualification Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)