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Multimodal Noncontact Tracking Of Surgical Instruments, Tara Bracken

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

For many procedures, open surgery is being replaced with minimally invasive surgical (MIS) techniques. The advantages of MIS include reduced operative trauma and fewer complications leading to faster patient recovery, better cosmetic results and shorter hospital stays.

As the demand for MIS procedures increases, effective surgical training tools must be developed to improve procedure efficiency and patient safety. Motion tracking of laparoscopic instruments can provide objective skills assessment for novices and experienced users. The most common approaches to noncontact motion capture are optical and electromagnetic (EM) tracking systems, though each approach has operational limitations. Optical trackers are prone to occlusion …