Project type

FUI 13

Project holder

EndoControl

Partners

Fluoptics, Leti

Non-members Partners

Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, TIMC-IMAG - Techniques de l?Ingénierie Médicale et de la Complexité - Informatique, Mathématiques et Applications de Grenoble, Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris VI, Haption

Challenges

Thanks to laparoscopic surgery, surgeons can perform complicated operations with incisions of just a few millimeters. To be able to "see" the area where they are operating, the surgeons inject fluorescent markers that concentrate in a specific area and emit infrared light. The infrared images are then displayed on a monitor. However, existing fluorescent imaging technology is not ideally suited for laparoscopic surgery--especially given the complicated movements that surgeons must perform in extremely small spaces. The Fluoromis II project aims to develop an endoscopic fluorescence imaging system with a robotic arm that attaches to the surgeon's arm to guide the surgeon's movements, making this type of surgery even safer.

Objectives

The first step will be to develop an endoscopic imaging system that displays the fluorescent areas in color. That will mean creating miniaturized fluorescence imaging technology as well as an endoscope that can display images in two modes. One of the main innovations will be the robotic arm that works hand-in-hand--literally--with the surgeon's arm. Both the robot and the surgeon will hold the surgical tools; the robot will simply provide additional stability, precision, and control. Project engineers will develop image processing algorithms to transform data from the imaging system into robot commands.