Imaging for Minimally Invasive Surgery

The successful outcome of any minimally invasive procedure is highly dependent on the imaging chain, as the medical team has to rely on indirect visualization of the surgical field during the entire procedure. During the last decade, the quality of the images obtainable preand intraoperatively has evolved significantly. In addition to the introduction of intra-operative image acquisition techniques such as ultrasound, X-ray, CT or MR, optical imaging technology as well as the corresponding processing units have undergone a rapid development. The article will review the activity related to minimally invasive procedures at the Operating Rooms of the Future (FOR) at St. Olavs Hospital, University Hospital of Trondheim, Norway. The imaging related demands of several surgical fields are introduced and the evolution of the imaging and visualization techniques at FOR will be presented. Subsequently, ongoing research projects in a dedicated visualization laboratory will be discussed and the advantages of updating the imaging equipment continuously in order to keep up with the latest developments in the field will be presented. It will be shown that the quality of the image acquisition and display can be significantly improved when compared to today’s standard. In addition to increasing the surgeon’s confidence, better imaging will lead to increased patient safety as well as more efficient interventions.