Q+A CENTER

Deployment of image-guided bronchoscopy to other teaching facilities is about a year away, according to William Higgins, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Penn State. Higgins is optimistic about its clinical applications and told Advanced Imaging that requisite approval by the Center for Devices and Radiological Health likely will come in 2009.

Stereoscopic Sensor

Our eyes serve the brain with two independent, slightly different views of an object. Each pair is processed into a single stereo image which also relays distance (derived from the parallax). Video cameras for endoscopic surgery are monocular and allow only two-dimensional visualization. The lack of depth perception significantly reduces a surgeon's ability to determine the precise size and location of anatomical structures and limits his/her capacity to maneuver, diagnose and operate efficiently.

Visionsense Corporation's (Orangeburg, N.Y. and Petah-Tikva, Israel) patented approach endows the surgeon with real-time, high-resolution, natural stereoscopic vision. The proprietary single sensor is based on multidisciplinary technologies combined with sophisticated image processing algorithms. Effectively replacing conventional monocular endoscopy, a software-driven stereoscopic sensor just a few millimeters in size-digitally enhances image quality, bestows depth perception and increases the level of information available to physicians during minimally invasive surgery. In the future, Visionsense intends to employ less expensive sensors, mounted in a competitively priced, disposable and/or reusable endoscope which may be rigid or flexible.