System development for unrestrictive view and 4D shape acquisition in abdominal cavity operation using virtual space.

Laparoscopic surgery has been used for various areas of abdominal cavity. However, the laparoscope has limitation of its field of view and mobility. Our aim is to develop a new video camera system that acquires multiple viewpoints in the abdominal cavity. We designed a camera array that consisted of eight small camera modules. The camera array can change its shape so that it can be inserted into the abdominal cavity through trocar. Surgeon can change the viewpoint by switching camera output without physically moving the camera. Using eight camera's images, we also tried to reconstruct 3D textured shape of the surgery field.